Barrick Gold CEO Aaron RegentSTRINGER/CANADA
Barrick Gold Corp. expects that an initial public offering for shares in its African Barrick Gold spinoff will reap $834-million (U.S.) in proceeds.
The world's biggest gold miner said Friday that the IPO for 101 million ordinary shares would be priced at £5.75 ($8.77) per share on the main market of the London Stock Exchange.
Barrick will continue to hold a 75 per cent equity interest in the company, or about 303 million ordinary shares.
An overallotment of about 10.1 million shares has been granted for up to 30 days after the pricing, the company noted.
"As an Africa-focused public company, we believe that African Barrick Gold will be better positioned to generate shareholder value from its operating platform, value which Barrick will continue to benefit from as a majority shareholder," said president and chief executive Aaron Regent in a release.
The offer is expected to close on March 24, and at that time African Barrick Gold will have a market capitalization of $3.55-billion.