The board of AngloGold Ashanti has approved the acquisition of Centamin which produces gold in Egypt.
The transaction has alao been given the nod by the board of Centamin which operates Egypt’s largest gold mine, Sukari.
The Egyptian mine has produced over 5.9 million ounces of gold since production started in 2009.
"Today's transaction will add a Tier 1 asset to our portfolio. The transaction is free cash flow accretive in the first full year of production and net asset value accretive from day one; it will also offer additional upsides as we leverage our corporate infrastructure and our core competencies in exploration, operations and asset optimisation,” said AngloGold Ashanti CEO, Alberto Calderon.
He added that AngloGold Ashantie will “build on the good work by the Centamin team to realise the significant upside” in the newly acquired gold miner.
Under terms of the transaction, Centamin Shareholders will be entitled to receive for each Centamin Share about 0.06983 New AngloGold Ashanti Shares; and $0.125 in cash.
The deal values each Centamin Share at 163 pence based on the Closing Price of $28.80 per AngloGold Ashanti Share and a £:US$ exchange rate of £1:US$1.3080 on 9 September
2024 being the last trading day before announcement of the tranaacrion.
AngloGold Ashanti recently said negotiations for the consummation of the company’s joint venture project with Gold Fields in Ghana, previously described by Calderon as complex despite making significant progress, were continuing although no agreement had been reached yet.
AngloGold Ashanti says the proposed Tarkwa/ Iduapriem joint venture project in Ghana will become the biggest gold mine in Africa, with expected bullion production of about 900 000 ounces per year.
Its gold production for the 2024 first half year rose 2% over the prior year’s same period to 1.25 million ounces. Total cash costs for the period per ounce decreased by 1% to $1 158 per ounce.
This compares to the gold miner’s realised inflation rate for the period of about 6%, representing the sum of price-related increases in cost of goods and services at each site that the company operates.
AngloGold Ashanti also mines in Tanzania, the DRC, Ghana, Brazil and Australia among other jurisdictions.
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