West Africa-focused gold producer Endeavour Mining Corporation (TSE:EDV) (OTCMKTS:EDVMF) (FRA:E5Y1) told investors it has completed its previously announced C$2.4 billion acquisition of Teranga Gold Corporation (TSE:TGZ) (OTCQX:TGCDF) (FRA:0TGA) and that its sole focus for this year was to unlock organic value.
Teranga shareholders received 0.47 of an Endeavour share for each Teranga share they held, resulting in the issue of over 78.7 million Endeavour shares, with Endeavour now having a total of over 243 million shares outstanding. Teranga becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary.
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Endeavour CEO Sebastien de Montessus welcomed the teams at the Sabodala-Massawa and Wahgnion mines to the group and said he "looked forward to quickly integrating our new assets into our West African operating platform and delivering on the anticipated material synergies".
"... we believe that we now have all the attributes required to create sustainable shareholder value over the long term. Our production base is diversified across six core operating mines in three countries.
"We have an industry-leading development pipeline of six greenfield projects and the largest exploration portfolio in the region. And lastly, our business is underpinned by a healthy balance sheet and strong cash flow generating capabilities to support our recently initiated sustainable dividend."
de Montessus added: “Given the significant potential within our portfolio, our sole priority in 2021 is to unlock value organically through mine life extensions, asset optimization initiatives, and by advancing our brownfield and greenfield projects through studies and further exploration."
Investor appeal is expected to be further increased with the group's upcoming listing on the Premium segment of the London Stock Exchange late in the second quarter, 2021, targeting inclusion in the FTSE indices, noted the company boss.
As part of the transaction terms, when closed, the group said Hélène Cartier has agreed to step down as a director at Endeavour, while Bill Biggar, David Mimran and Frank Wheatley are joining the Endeavour board.
Along with the Teranga completion, Endeavour has closed a previously announced C$800 million debt refinancing package, consisting of an amendment and extension of Endeavour’s existing C$430 million revolving credit facility (RCF) and a C$370 million bridge facility.
Endeavour said it aims to publish a consolidated 2021 guidance, detailing production, AISC, capital and exploration spend for the Teranga assets in coming weeks.
Contact the author at giles@proactiveinvestors.com