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".
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About Zijin Mining
Zijin Mining is a leading global metals and mining company and one of the world’s largest producers of gold, copper, and zinc. The company has more than 30 large-scale mining operations and projects across 19 countries on 5 continents. Leveraging strong in-house research, engineering, and development capabilities, Zijin maintains high operational efficiency and low costs in both acquisitions and operations. This enables the company to be an industry leader in value creation, underpinned by its philosophy of pursuing development for all and sustained by superior environmental, social, and governance performance. Zijin’s shares trade on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX: 2899) and the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE: 601899).