Canada’s Barrick Gold (TSX:ABX)(NYSE:GOLD) has been allowed by the High Court of Justice of England and Wales to acquire all outstanding issued shares it doesn’t already own in Acacia Mining (LON:ACA), which gives the gold giant full control of the African miner.
Acacia directors Peter Geleta, Rachel English, Steve Lucas, Deborah Gudgeon, Alan Ashworth and Adrian Reynolds will resign from the board.
Graham Shuttleworth and Martin Welsh have
joined the board as directors, Barrick said.
As Acacia’s majority shareholder, with a 63.9% stake, Barrick led discussions over alleged unpaid taxes with the Tanzanian government, which has refused to deal directly with the local miner.
The parties reached a framework deal in February, which would see Acacia paying
$300 million to settle the tax claims and splitting returns from its operations
50/50 with the country going forward.
Acacia, which spun off from Barrick in 2010, complained about
being left out of the negotiations, but Barrick’s chief executive, Mark
Bristow, said it was the only way forward.
“It’s a tragedy,” he said in June. “We’re dealing with a complete breakdown of relationships.”
Earlier this week, Acacia was ordered to stop using the tailings storage dam at
its North Mara mine due to seepage from the facility.
Three of the company’s employees remain in jail in Tanzania
awaiting charges for alleged corruption.
Barrick’s original offer, submitted in May, valued Acacia at only $787 million. In July, the gold giant bowed to pressure from the African gold miner’s shareholders and submitted a sweetened $1.2 billion-offer.
Including the special dividends, which depend on asset
sales, the fresh offer represented a 60% premium to Acacia’s share price at the
time of the indicative takeover pitch.
More to come…