Kirkland Lake Gold and Newmarket Gold to merge
Newmarket Gold's Fosterville Gold Mine in Victoria State, Australia. Source: Newmarket Gold Inc.
Toronto-based Kirkland Lake Gold Inc. [KLG–TSX] and Vancouver-based Newmarket Gold Inc. [NMI-TSX] have agreed to merge the two companies, creating a new mid-tier gold company. The combined company will have a market capitalization of approximately C$2.4 billion.
Existing Kirkland Lake Gold and Newmarket shareholders will own approximately 57% and 43% of the combined company, respectively, on a fully-diluted in-the-money basis.
The combination of Macassa and Fosterville will form the production backbone of a new mid-tier, high quality gold producer with low cost production and superior free cash flow generation.
Kirkland Lake Gold operates its flagship Macassa Mine Complex in the historic Kirkland Lake gold camp as well as the Holt, Holloway and Taylor gold mines, all in northeast Ontario.
With the addition of Newmarket’s Fosterville Gold Mine in the State of Victoria, Australia and its other gold producing Cosmo and Stawell mines, the targeted gold production of the combined company will effectively be over 500,000 oz for the full year ended 2016.
The merged companies will have a strong balance sheet with a combined cash balance of over C$275 million along with superior free cash flow generation that amounted to C$92 million, on a combined basis, in the first half of 2016.
Eric Sprott will be Chairman of the Board. Refer to Kirkland Lake Gold press release for more transactions details.