By David Stringer
Bloomberg
There’s no sign of a let up in gold industry takeovers as a surge in acquisitions by producers, led by Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. (AEM) and Yamana Gold Inc. (YRI), has pushed deals to a three-year high.
Mid-sized and small producers are seizing on assets discarded by larger competitors as they trim portfolios to focus on their most profitable operations after gold last year notched up the biggest annual drop in more than three decades.
“The hunters have feasted for the last six months,” said Raleigh Finlayson, managing director of Saracen Mineral Holdings Ltd. (SAR), which in May completed a deal to buy OAO GMK Norilsk Nickel’s mothballed Thunderbox operations in Australia. “There are projects still out there and the field might have opened up for those that are left, so that’s an opportunity for some.”