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May 31, 2022 - Economy & Business

Gold mining megamerger comes as prices sag

Dan Primack
Illustration of a person sitting on top of a pyramid of gold bars.

Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios

Gold Fields of South Africa agreed to buy Canada's Yamana Gold for US$6.7 billion in stock.

Why it matters: This creates the world's fourth-largest gold miner, and comes as gold prices (and gold miner stocks) have faded after a brief surge when Russia first attacked Ukraine.

  • The deal represents a 33.8% premium over the 10-day volume-weighted average price of Yamana shares, with Yamana shareholders to own a 39% stake in the combined company.
  • A final close is expected by year-end, pending regulatory approvals.

More, per the WSJ: "Gold Fields has been working to diversify its operations outside of South Africa, where it faces declining and increasingly hard-to-reach gold reserves and other issues."

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