Goldcorp successfully acquires 80.5% Exeter stake, extends offer

VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – Canadian gold major Goldcorp has secured an 80.5% interest in Exeter Resource Corp.

The acquisition is part of a series of transactions that will result in the creation of a new 50:50 joint venture (JV) between Goldcorp and Barrick Gold over a new project located in the Atacama region of Chile, that combines Barrick and Kinross Gold’s Cerro Casale project, with Exeter’s Caspiche project.

Goldcorp reported after market close on Wednesday that nearly 75-million Exeter shares had been successfully tendered, and accepted following the deadline on Wednesday afternoon, and Goldcorp now plans to replace the current Exeter board and carry out a compulsory acquisition or subsequent acquisition transaction to acquire any Exeter shares that are not validly deposited under the offer.

Exeter is being acquired for $185-million in Goldcorp shares, exchanged on a 0.12 basis, valuing Exeter at C$2.58 a share, a 67% premium over March 27, the last trading day before the offer was announced.

Goldcorp announced a mandatory extension of the Exeter offer to 17:00 EST on June 20.

Exeter’s Caspiche project is about 10 km from Cerro Casale, which is currently a JV project between Kinross and Barrick, but will become a JV between Goldcorp and Barrick.