Endeavour Mining Corp., the acquisitive gold producer backed by Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris, agreed to buy Teranga Gold Corp. to expand in West Africa.
Endeavour is offering 0.47 of its own shares per Teranga share, a 5.1% premium to Teranga’s closing price on Nov. 13, the companies said in a statement on Monday. The price values Teranga’s equity at C$2.44 billion ($1.86 billion), according to Bloomberg calculations.
Endeavour said last week it was discussing a “merger of equals style” deal with Teranga after the talks were first reported by Bloomberg. The gold industry has seen a flurry of dealmaking in the past few years, beginning when Barrick Gold Corp. agreed to buy Randgold Resources Ltd., an all-stock acquisition that set the tone for low or zero premiums in the industry.
Read More: Endeavour Mining Explores Combination With Rival Teranga Gold
“By combining our complementary assets, we will enhance our strategic position on West Africa’s highly prospective Birimian Greenstone Belt and we will have the ability to deliver material synergies,” Endeavour Chief Executive Officer Sebastien de Montessus said in Monday’s statement. “The combined entity will become a new senior gold producer and enjoy an improved capital markets profile.”
Existing Endeavour and Teranga shareholders will own approximately 66% and 34%, respectively, of the combined company, which plans to seek a second listing on the London Stock Exchange.
A successful deal would extend a years-long transformation by Endeavour, which has replaced high-cost mines with two new flagship projects that produce more gold and will operate for much longer. Teranga has assets in Senegal, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast.