IAMGOLD moves to buy rest of Euro Ressources

Canada’s IAMGOLD Corp. (TSX: IMG) (NYSE: IAG) plans to pay about $23 million for the shares it doesn’t already owns in French precious metals royalties company Euro Ressources (EPA: EUR).

The draft offer, filed with French regulators on Tuesday, will see IAMGOLD paying €3.50 ($3.8) cash per each Euro share. This represents a 6.71% premium based on the stock closing price on the Euronext Paris stock exchange on November 13.

The offer will be followed immediately by a squeeze-out under French law, IAMGOLD said.

The Toronto-based miner currently holds 56.2 million shares in Euro Ressources, representing 90% of the share capital and 94.37% of the voting rights.

Among Euro Ressources’ assets are a 10% royalty on production from the Rosebel gold mine (excluding Saramacca) in Suriname, and a silver stream on Orezone Gold‘s (TSX: ORE) Bombore mine in Burkina Faso.

IAMGOLD said it would finance the deal from existing cash resources.

The Canadian company is focused on bringing its Côté gold project in Ontario, Canada, to production in early 2024.

Construction of Côté began in 2020 and was expected to take three years to build. The lifespan of the mine is pegged at 16-18 years, with production reaching 495,000 ounces of gold annually in its first six years.

Average production over the life of the gold mine is estimated at 365,000 ounces a year, which will make it Canada’s third largest gold mine.