Newmont and Newcrest vote on acquisition

Newmont has announced its shareholders voted in favour of the company’s $26.2 billion acquisition of Newcrest Mining.

More than 96 per cent of votes cast at a special shareholder meeting held on October 11 were in favour of approval.

“Recognising the strategic rationale to create the industry’s strongest portfolio of world class gold and copper assets, Newmont’s shareholders overwhelmingly voted in favour of this transformational transaction,” Newmont president and chief executive officer Tom Palmer said.

“This unrivalled platform, featuring the industry’s best talent running the highest concentration of Tier 1 assets in the most favourable jurisdictions, uniquely positions Newmont to generate superior returns for decades.”

Newmont cleared the final hurdle in its acquisition of Newcrest last week after the Securities Commission of Papua New Guinea (SCPNG) has granted necessary exemptions and requested confirmations under PNG capital markets law.

To support the acquisition, Newmont announced key leadership changes earlier this week.

One of these changes included appointing Alwyn Pretorius as Newmont managing director of PNG, as part of its efforts to establish a dedicated business unit in PNG.

Newcrest shareholders will vote on the takeover at 10:30am today, Friday October 13.