Newmont CEO Gary Goldberg
US-based gold miner Newmont has won over the shareholders that were critical of its merger with Canada-based Goldcorp, with a promise of a $0.88c a share special dividend should the $10-billion transaction succeeds.
The special dividend will give shareholders an immediate cash benefit from the synergy potential arising from the Nevada joint venture (JV) with Barrick Gold.
The move was announced as criticism of the proposed merger mounted over the weekend with two of Newmont’s shareholders, Van Eck and Paulson & Co, saying they will not support the miner’s acquisition, as they believe it isunfair that Goldcorp shareholders should benefit from a JV with Barrick.
The JV was negotiated after the Goldcorp and Newmont terms were set.
“We have continued to engage with, and have listened carefully to, our shareholders,” Newmont CEO Gary Goldberg said in a statement on Monday, adding that “several” of the group’s largest shareholders had expressed their support for the combination.
In a separate statement, Goldcorp expressed its support for the Newmont special dividend.
Newswire Reuters reports that Van Eck and Paulson & Co have subsequently said that they supported the tie-up and that they would vote in favour of the merger at the upcoming shareholders meeting.
Goldcorp shareholders will be the first to vote on the transaction on April 4 and independent proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services has recommended that shareholders approve the deal.
Newmont shareholders will decide on April 11. The closing of the Newmont-Goldcorp transaction is expected to close shortly after the two shareholder special meetings, should the shareholders approve the resolutions.
The transaction has already received clearance from the Canadian Competition Bureau, the Korea Fair Trade Commission and the Mexico Competition Commission.