Goldcorp Inc.’s chief executive says he is prepared to kill his hostile bid for Canadian rival Osisko Mining Corp. if it becomes too complicated or expensive.

“This is not the only opportunity in the world,” Goldcorp CEO Chuck Jeannes said in an interview Wednesday.

“It may be the case that if this becomes too complicated that we go look at something else. That would be a very bad day for Osisko shareholders. They would probably see their stock drop by 20 per cent overnight,” he said.

Mr. Jeannes would not provide detail on his company’s other options.

The unsolicited cash and stock bid is currently on hold because Osisko sued Goldcorp for allegedly breaching a confidentiality agreement between the two Canadian miners.

A Quebec court will make a decision on the lawsuit next week, which could further delay Goldcorp’s bid.

For more than five years, Mr. Jeannes has tried to acquire Osisko for its massive Canadian Malartic mine in Quebec. The mine would add an additional 10 million ounces of gold reserves to Goldcorp’s portfolio of mines and projects in the Americas and Mexico.

Since Goldcorp launched the bid mid-January, Osisko has opened its books to Goldcorp’s competitors and signed a number of confidentiality agreements, a source has said.

Mr. Jeannes said competitors having that information puts Goldcorp at a disadvantage but said if another suitor were going to make a competing bid they would have done it by now. “As time passes, it’s much less likely” he said.

Osisko has consistently traded above Goldcorp’s cash and stock bid but the premium has narrowed to below 4 per cent from above 5 per cent. Osisko is now trading at $6.86 per share, which is 3.4 per cent higher than Goldcorp’s offer of $6.63 based on current stock prices.

Osisko’s chief executive Sean Roosen has been playing up his company’s ties to Quebec. But Mr. Jeannes said the Vancouver-based Goldcorp will eventually have what he calls a “significant presence” in Quebec with one of its projects Éléonore in the province due to start production later this year.

“Whether we complete the Osisko deal or not, we will have a permanent presence in Montreal,” Mr. Jeannes said. “We need local leaders, government affairs and leadership that understand doing business in Quebec.”

As for savings from combining the two companies, Mr. Jeannes stressed that since Goldcorp is one of the world’s largest gold miners that it could buy mining equipment like tires and chemicals cheaper than Osisko, which only operates one mine.

Although the Quebec government has proposed new ways for companies to defend themselves against hostile bids, Mr. Jeannes said he does not expect any kind of backlash in the province if Goldcorp’s bid is successful.

The anti-hostile takeover plan, which has been denounced by shareholder activists, would only apply to companies incorporated in Quebec and not those that are federally incorporated like Osisko.

Mr. Jeannes said he was not concerned about the business climate in Quebec and said he has good relations with the provincial government.

Mr. Jeannes said he has spoken to various government officials and said he has not made any promises to the Quebec government.

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