Randgold We can but dream26 Sep 2018 13:16
The new Barrick company, which will be listed in New York and Toronto, will own five of the world’s 10 lowest-cost gold mines and have a market value of $19.4 billion based on Monday’s trading. That would make it the world’s biggest gold miner by market capitalization, overtaking Newmont Mining Corp, according to Reuters calculations.
The deal marks the biggest transaction in years in the gold mining industry, where companies have come under fire from investors for poorly managing capital, forcing them to focus on costs while dampening enthusiasm for acquisitions.
Randgold shares closed up 6 percent, making it the biggest gainer in London’s wider mining index and valuing it at 4.93 billion pounds ($6.5 billion). Shares of Barrick, the world’s second-largest gold producer, closed up 5.8 percent in Toronto.
“Randgold has the agility and swift-footedness of a younger and smaller company, much like Barrick in its early years, while Barrick has the infrastructure and global reach of a large corporate company,” Barrick Chairman John Thornton said in a conference call.
Randgold’s long-term boss Mark Bristow will become the chief executive and president of the merged company, taking chief financial officer Graham Shuttleworth with him. Thornton, an ex-Goldman Sachs banker, will be executive chairman.