Acacia finally agrees to increased buyout offer from Barrick
What you need to know:
Barrick’s buyout proposal for Acacia follows two years of wrangling over a $190 billion tax bill with the government of Tanzania. Barrick first made an offer for Acacia shares that it did not already own in May 2019
Barrick Gold Corp has agreed to buy out fellow shareholders in Acacia Mining in a deal that values the firm at 951 million pounds ($1.1 billion), ending a two-month standoff between the world’s second biggest gold miner and its Africa unit.
Barrick had spun off Acacia into a separate company in 2010, but owns about 64 per cent of the company.
The deal will offer Acacia shareholders, as well as special dividends on Acacia exploration properties and deferred cash consideration dividends, 0.168 Barrick shares per Acacia share, implying a value of about 232 pence per share, the miner said.
Acacia had said until earlier this month that it is worth more than what Barrick’s earlier offer of 193 pence per share valued the company at.
Barrick’s final offer represents a 24.3 per cent premium to Acacia’s closing price on Thursday. Barrick first made an offer for Acacia shares it did not already own in May.
Acacia has said Barrick’s earlier proposal undervalued its mine plans and appears to have ignored the value of its exploration and development assets.
Barrick’s buyout proposal for Acacia followed two years of wrangling over a $190 billion tax bill in Tanzania, which was reduced to $300 million under a 2017 framework agreement.
“It is intended that the acquisition will be implemented by means of a court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement under Part 26 of the Companies Act,” Acacia said in a statement.
Barrick’s earlier proposal to take full control of its African unit to resolve a long-standing tax dispute with Tanzania has drawn the ire of Acacia’s minority shareholders, who may have the ultimate vote on a deal.
