Gold miners are forging ahead with mergers and acquisitions, taking advantage of an investor flight to the haven during the coronavirus crisis.
Despite the logistical problems the pandemic has created — both for operations and for arranging face-to-face meetings to hammer out transaction details — consolidation is picking up steam with three proposed gold deals announced in the last week.
That’s in contrast to broader M&A activity across the globe, where almost $16 billion of mergers, acquisitions and investments have been terminated over the past 30 days. The gold industry is bucking that trend as investors rush to bullion while fleeing risk assets including equities and oil.