Acacia Mining de-lists from London bourse after Barrick deal

Dar es Salaam. The Fair Competition Commission (FCC) has confirmed that it has given its approval for the acquisition of Acacia Mining Plc by Barrick Gold Corporation.

A few weeks ago, FCC had announced that it was scrutinizing a proposal by the Canada-based Barrick Gold and its subsidiary in Tanzania, Acacia Mining.

FCC said through an official statement to The Citizen yesterday that the deal was finally approved under the provisions of the Fair Competition Act Number 8 of 2003 and the related Fair Competition Rules of 2018.

“All the necessary merger examination processes were conducted, and the commission approved the acquisition,” reads in part the FCC response to The Citizen.

In a related development, Acacia Mining officially announced yesterday that it was de-listing from, and cancelling the trading of its shares on, the London Stock Exchange (LSE). This came on the heels of an announcement by the biggest gold mining firm in Tanzania and its parent firm, Barrick Gold Corporation – the world’s largest gold mining conglomerate – on Tuesday.

On that date (September 17, 2019), Acacia Mining officially notified its shareholders that it had been acquired by Barrick Gold Corporation.

For its part, Barrick Gold announced last week that it had acquired the shares which it did not own in its subsidiary company, Acacia Mining, “in a (United Kingdom) court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement.”

Before the take-over, Barrick Gold Corporation owned 63.9 per cent of Acacia Mining Plc – formally operating as African Barrick Gold Plc.

The Corporation’s president and chief executive officer, Mr Mark Bristow, said in a statement on Friday last week that the Corporation was determined to acquire all the remaining Acacia Mining shares from the minority shareholders as a show of confidence in the potential of the operating assets of Acacia, the geology of the country (Tanzania), the country itself and its people.

“Following the court sanction today (Friday, September 13), Acacia Mining Plc and its operations fully become part of Barrick Gold Corporation, and we welcome you into our family,” read part of the statement.

“We firmly believe that we can manage the assets better as part of the (Barrick Gold) group – and, together with the Government of Tanzania as a 16 per cent shareholder – than the previous London Stock Exchange-listed arrangement.”

In its statement issued yesterday, Acacia Mining said that, following the acquisition, its listing and trading on the London Stock Exchange had to cease.

“Further to the announcement made by Acacia Mining Plc (‘Acacia’) and Barrick Gold Corporation on September 17, 2019..., Acacia today announces that the listing of Acacia shares on the premium listing segment of the Official List, and the admission to trading of Acacia shares on the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market, were each cancelled with effect from 8.00a.m. (London time) today,” the statement reads in part.

Asked on what that means with regard to the trading of Acacia Mining shares at the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE), the DSE chief executive officer Moremi Marwa said Acacia had not yet communicated a de-listing intention to DSE.

“Acacia has yet to communicate to DSE about their intentions to de-list its securities at the DSE as required by the rules,” he stated.

However, he said that – as a cross-listed firm – Acacia’s de-listing from the London Stock Exchange implies that it has automatically de-listed from the DSE as well.

“This is because the London Stock Exchange is a primary listing and DSE is a secondary listing – thus reflecting what happens in the LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) – including the matter of de-listing. Prior to the Acacia Mining acquisition by Barrick Gold Corporation, Acacia operated three gold mines in Tanzania, namely: Bulyamhulu, North Mara and Pangea.