The theme of the conference this year is diversification. One way
to diversify is through acquisition. The principle underlying the
winner's curse is that in competitive bidding situations where the
value of the asset bid for is uncertain the winning bid will
overstate the true value of the asset. The successful bidder is
blessed with the winner's curse. What this paper will explore is
to what extent this is true; how acquirers can avoid being blessed
with the winners curse; and show how joint venture deal
structures are used within the mining industry to avoid the
winners curse.