RE:Need a point of clarificationMy understanding is, that the deal needs 66.666 % of the votes as "YES" votes, which were given into the virtual "ballot box" on the day of voting.
Thus any vote in the "box" which says "no" or "withhold" counts finally as "NO" vote.
I do not know yet how the voting proceedures will look like exactly. In many cases voting papers try to confuse shareholders and offer only "YES" or "Withhold", instead of a clear "YES" or "NO"...
Doing so, they try to lure people to do nothing, so that the relative part of the "Yes" votes in the "Box" weights heavier and has more power. Simplified: 67 Yes votes of 100 votes in the box: the deal is through. 67 Yes votes of for example 102 votes in the Box: the deal is cancelled. So it is very important that every shareholders makes his cross at "Withhold" in case there is no clear "NO" on the voting paper and everyone must really confirm plus submit this "Withold" vote.
Let us see what comes. Never make your cross at "YES" but either on a "NO" so far it is offered or on the "Withhold" box and send out your vote + wait for voting confirmation by your broker.
Next big gold miner vote will be at Kirkland Lake. There is deadline for voting about the AEM "merger" on November 24th. I am very nosy how this will look like and how voting will end there. Potential rivals for Newcrest in our case might want to wait to these November 24th results, before they come out of the bushes in our case...
All said as a legal layman, who sits far away in Europe. If some one has better insights, please correct me ! Count it not as advice but as my personal opinion.