Canada’s Barrick Gold is in preliminary discussions with
China National Gold Group Corporation over its 74 percent stake in unit African
Barrick Gold , the world’s largest gold producer said today.
“Discussions are at an early stage, and there can be no
certainty that these discussions will result in the acquisition of all or part
of Barrick’s holding in ABG,” Barrick Gold said, confirming an earlier report.
“Barrick has adopted a renewed focus on maximizing
shareholder value through a disciplined capital allocation program ... The
preliminary discussions relating to ABG form part of this program,” it said.
In a separate statement, ABG said that should China Gold
acquire more than 30 percent of the voting rights in the company, it would be
required to make an offer for a full take over. ABG is Tanzania’s largest gold
producer.
The Financial Times earlier quoted one person with knowledge
of the discussions who suggested that Zijin Mining Group, the Chinese copper
and gold miner, had indicated a preliminary interest in African Barrick.
The newspaper also said that Barrick has been working with investment
bank UBS to consider its options for African Barrick, which the Canadian miner
spun off in 2010.
However, a second person familiar with the situation, cited
in the FT article, said that Barrick’s team had abruptly halted work on a
possible sale this week, throwing into doubt whether the Canadian company will
proceed.
Source: The Financial Times
0 comments :
Post a Comment