Barrick CEO Mark Bristow
African gold miner Acacia Mining has agreed to its parent company Barrick Gold’s request for an extension to the ‘put up or shut up’, or PUSU, deadline to July 9.
The previous deadline was June 18.
Barrick, led by CEO Mark Bristow, had requested the extension to allow for further engagement with Acacia and its minority shareholders regarding Barrick’s proposed buyout of the shares in Acacia it does not already own.
Barrick will be required to announce, by 17:00 on July 9, a firm intention to make an offer for the Acacia shares or to announce that it will not make an offer.
In May, Acacia announced that it had received an indicative proposal from Barrick regarding a possible offer for the entire issued and to be issued share capital of the company for $285-million.
The board of Acacia on Tuesday said it believes that, subject to the price offered being fair and commanding the necessary support from shareholders, Barrick’s acquisition of the remaining shares would be an attractive solution for key stakeholders.
Barrick has been working to negotiate a settlement to a long-standing dispute between Acacia and the Tanzanian government and in May said the government had refused to enter into an agreement directly with Acacia.