Canadian gold miner Allied Gold Corp. AAUC-T +4.02%increase has agreed to be acquired by China’s Zijin Gold International Co. for $5.5-billion in cash.
Zijin Gold, which is indirectly owned by the Chinese government, is paying $44 per share in cash, a 5.4-per-cent premium to Friday’s close, representing an all-time high for the stock.
Toronto-based Allied was taken public in 2023 by former Yamana Gold Inc. founder Peter Marrone. Mr. Marrone, who became the company’s CEO, put US$30-million of his own money into Allied at the time. Allied operates three mines in West Africa, and produces about 375,000 ounces of gold a year.
Gold bullion is in a historical bull market, fuelled in large part by geopolitical uncertainty caused by U.S. President Donald Trump. Gold over the past 24 hours has traded above US$5,000 an ounce for the first time.
In early trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Monday,Allied’s shares traded up by about 3.5 per cent, signaling some uncertainty over whether the deal will close.
The transaction will undergo both a national security review and net benefit review by the Canadian federal government.
Over the past few years, Ottawa has cracked down on Chinese ownership in the Canadian critical minerals sector, even when the assets in question have been overseas.
However, the government has mostly permitted Chinese investment in Canadian gold assets, owing to it not being a critical mineral. One exception was in 2020 when the government blocked the attempted acquisition of TMAC Resources Ltd. by Shandong Gold Mining Co. Ltd. The mine in question is located in the Canadian Arctic, and the deal was rejected because of national security concerns.
Canada’s trade relations with China were once again brought to the fore on the weekend when Mr. Trump threatened to put 100 per cent tariffs on Canada if this country strikes a deal with China, although it is unclear what he exactly he was referring to.
Canada doesn’t currently have a comprehensive free trade deal with China, and Prime Minister Mark Carney on Sunday reiterated that he has no intention of striking such a pact either.
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However, since taking office Mr. Carney has improved Canada’s relationship with China in a bid to diversify trade away from reliance on the U.S. during the trade war.
Mr. Carney recently announced a material reduction in tariffs on Canadian imports of Chinese electric cars. He also said that Canada was open to significantly more inbound investment from China in an array of sectors, although mining wasn’t mentioned specifically.
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Zijin Gold trades on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and is controlled by Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd., which is partly owned by the state.
Allied’s assets are all in Africa, ostensibly presenting no national security threat to Canada. The company operates gold mines in Mali and Côte d’Ivoire. It also has a project in Ethiopia.
Allied says it expects the deal to close by late April, indicating that it doesn’t anticipate the transaction to be blocked by Ottawa.
The deal requires at least two-thirds of votes cast by Allied shareholders to be in favour for it to proceed.
Yamana Gold, which was founded by Mr. Marrone in the early 2000s, was sold in 2023 to Canada’s Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. and Pan American Silver Corp. for US$4.8-billion.
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