BEIJING, June 12 (Reuters) - China's Zijin Mining said on Friday it would acquire Guyana Goldfields for C$323 million ($238 million), bringing an end to a protracted takeover battle for the Canada-listed gold miner.
Toronto-based Guyana Goldfields announced on June 3 that it had received a binding proposal from an unnamed overseas-based miner to acquire the company, valuing it around 35% higher than a previously accepted offer from Silvercorp Metals.
On Friday, Zijin, one of China's biggest gold producers, was confirmed as the mystery bidder behind the higher all-cash offer to buy Guyana Goldfields, whose flagship asset is the Aurora gold mine in Guyana, for C$1.85 per share.
Zijin has been on an acquisition spree, wrapping up its purchase of Continental Gold for C$1.3 billion in March and earlier this week taking 50.1% in a copper miner in Tibet for $548 million.
"The all-cash offer from Zijin represents a significant premium to the amended Silvercorp offer price and is an excellent outcome for Guyana Goldfield's shareholders," Guyana Goldfields CEO Alan Pangbourne said in a statement.
Zijin has also agreed to provide Guyana Goldfields with a $30 million loan to finance ongoing operations at Aurora and for other liquidity needs.
"We believe that the Aurora mine is a high-quality gold asset with significant upside potential," Zijin chairman Chen Jinghe said, adding that his company looked forward to "advancing and developing the next phase of the mine".
The Original News Link is https://finance.yahoo.com/news/chinas-zijin-mining-buy-guyana-121726488.html
Sobre Zijin Mining
Zijin Mining es una empresa líder mundial en el sector de metales y minería, y uno de los mayores productores globales de oro, cobre y zinc. Con más de 30 operaciones y proyectos mineros de gran escala distribuidos en 19 países y 5 continentes, la compañía aprovecha sus sólidas capacidades internas de investigación, ingeniería y desarrollo para mantener una alta eficiencia operacional y bajos costos, tanto en adquisiciones como en operaciones.
Este enfoque le ha permitido consolidarse como referente en la creación de valor, respaldado por su filosofía de desarrollo compartido y sustentado por un desempeño superior en materia ambiental, social y de gobierno corporativo. Las acciones de Zijin cotizan en la Bolsa de Hong Kong (HKEX: 2899) y en la Bolsa de Shanghai (SSE: 601899).