Key Points
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Gold Fields completes $3.3B Gold Road acquisition.
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Shareholders approved deal; court gave final clearance.
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Takeover strengthens control of Gruyere gold mine.
South Africa–based Gold Fields has finalized its A$3.3 billion ($3.3 billion) takeover of Australia’s Gold Road Resources. The move followed shareholder approval and consent from the Supreme Court of Western Australia.
The transaction makes Gruyere Holdings, a fully owned Gold Fields subsidiary, the sole owner of Gold Road.
Court orders were filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission on Friday, making the scheme effective. As a result, Gold Road shares will stop trading at the end of Friday’s session.
Shareholders secure terms in Gold Fields takeover
Gold Road investors will receive A$3.06423 per share. This includes a fixed cash payment of A$2.52 and a variable portion linked to Northern Star Resources’ share value.
That component was set at A$0.98117 per share, based on the five-day average price of Northern Star shares through September 25.
The fixed cash payout was lowered by a fully franked dividend of 43.694 cents per share, to be paid on October 7. Investors will receive their final takeover consideration on October 14.
Strategic value of Gold Fields acquisition
The deal values Gold Road’s equity at A$3.3 billion, excluding dividends, and gives an enterprise value of about A$2.6 billion. In addition, Gold Fields signed a A$1.1 billion forward sale agreement with JP Morgan Securities.
Through this, it will sell Northern Star shares gained in the deal and use the proceeds to repay part of its acquisition bridge loan.
Gold Fields CEO Mike Fraser said the company was pleased to reach this stage. “This acquisition is a strategically logical, low-risk opportunity to further improve the quality of our portfolio,” Fraser said.
Future of Gruyere gold mine and exploration projects
Fraser added that the company looks forward to developing the Gruyere gold mine fully and pushing ahead with new exploration projects now under Gold Fields’ control.
The move boosts its position in Western Australia by giving it full ownership of one of the region’s largest gold operations.
“This deal consolidates a high-quality asset that we already operate. We value the partnership we had with Gold Road and will now unlock further potential for shareholders,” Fraser said.
