Parlez vous Coeur d’Alene?

Coeur d’Alene Mines Corp. needs a tender offer in French to woo shareholders of a Canadian mining firm.

Translation of the documents, required by regulators in bilingual Canada, is holding up a formal offer to Wheaton River Minerals Ltd.’s shareholders, said Dennis Wheeler, Coeur d’Alene Mines’ chairman, in a Monday conference call with analysts.

Coeur is pursuing a hostile takeover of Wheaton River, a gold and silver producer based in Vancouver, B.C. A merger of the two firms would create one of North America’s largest precious metals companies, with 22 million ounces of annual silver production, according to Wheeler.

“It’s going to give our shareholders one of the most liquid precious metals companies, with listings on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges,” he said.

Wheaton’s board of directors, however, has steadfastly rebuffed Coeur d’Alene Mine’s advances, citing Coeur’s history of financial losses. Wheaton recently posted second-quarter earnings of $21 million, while Coeur announced second quarter losses of $5.4 million on Monday.

To take control of Wheaton, Coeur would have to acquire a majority of its shares. Coeur’s $2 billion tender offer gives Wheaton shareholders the option of trading their shares for cash or new shares in Coeur d’Alene Mines.

One Wheaton shareholder voiced dismay with Coeur’s bid in a testy exchange with Wheeler during the conference call.

“We don’t like this bid at all,” the shareholder said. “This is a parasitic bid that is holding back the price of Wheaton River shares … You can’t afford this company, it’s out of your league. Go away!”

Wheeler responded curtly: “This is a free country … You’ve had an opportunity to express your view. Thank you.”

The outcome of the takeover bid should be clear by the end of September, according to Wheeler. Wheaton River’s Canadian shareholders will get their tender offer in the mail shortly, and they’ll have 35 days to respond, he said.

Wheeler said he remains optimistic about the takeover bid.

“The suggestion that no single Wheaton River shareholder has been interested in this proposal is untrue,” he told analysts. “We’ve had a number of shareholders express their interest … or we wouldn’t be pursuing it.”