News Release
Journal says shopping rumours downplayed
Barrick Gold Corp ABX
Shares issued 372,817,172 Dec 24 close C$27.90
Mon 29 Dec 97 In the News
The Wall Street Journal reports in its Monday edition that some gold firms
see glitter in rivals' cheap stocks. Reporter Bob Ortega says that a
depressed market offers the chance to snap up reserves and cut costs. Last
week, Homestake Mining agreed to acquire Plutonic Resources of Australia
for US$640 million in stock. In addition, several other, mostly large, gold
companies say they are exploring acquisitions. At least two of the biggest
companies most touted as potential buyers, however, Homestake Mining and
Barrick Gold, say they are not actively shopping. Barrick says it plans to
buy back as many as 31 million shares, or 8.3 per-cent, of its shares
outstanding, because it believes they are undervalued. In a recent meeting
with analysts, Barrick said the buyback made more sense than acquisitions.
Barrick, which has perhaps the most aggressive hedging program of any gold
producer, locked in prices of more than US$400 an ounce for about ten
million ounces of its future gold production, helping insulate it from the
fall in gold prices. |
