For the past two years, Acacia Mining Plc has faced deteriorating relationships with its largest shareholder, Barrick Gold Corp. and the government of Tanzania. Now, one of those battles has found a truce.
The two companies said Friday that they reached a deal for Barrick to buy the roughly 36% stake in Acacia it doesn’t already own. Barrick sweetened its offer to win over Acacia shareholders, some of whom had decried the previous bid as too low. The new offer has an implied value of about 232 pence per Acacia share, a 24% premium to the closing price on Thursday.
“Given all the circumstances, this is possibly the best outcome,” Acacia’s acting Chief Executive Officer Peter Geleta said by phone.
The agreement paves the way for Barrick to negotiate with Tanzania in hopes of resolving a public battle that crippled Acacia’s operations in the country, where it runs three gold mines. Acacia hopes the talks will help set up a “new partnership” with the Tanzanian government, Geleta said.
The two companies said Friday that they reached a deal for Barrick to buy the roughly 36% stake in Acacia it doesn’t already own. Barrick sweetened its offer to win over Acacia shareholders, some of whom had decried the previous bid as too low. The new offer has an implied value of about 232 pence per Acacia share, a 24% premium to the closing price on Thursday.
“Given all the circumstances, this is possibly the best outcome,” Acacia’s acting Chief Executive Officer Peter Geleta said by phone.
The agreement paves the way for Barrick to negotiate with Tanzania in hopes of resolving a public battle that crippled Acacia’s operations in the country, where it runs three gold mines. Acacia hopes the talks will help set up a “new partnership” with the Tanzanian government, Geleta said.