Equinox Gold to buy Calibre for $1.8B

Equinox Gold (TSX: EQX) (NYSE American: EQX) has agreed to acquire Calibre Mining (TSX: CXB) in a C$2.6 billion ($1.8 billion) all-stock deal that would make the combined company Canada’s second-largest gold producer.

Under the agreement, Calibre shareholders will receive 0.31 of an Equinox share for each Calibre share. Equinox’s stock fell 3% to $6.6 on Monday morning in New York, giving the company a market capitalization of $3 billion. Calibre shares were down 7% in Toronto at C$2.8 ($1.9), giving the company a market cap of C$2.5 billion ($1.7 billion).

The implied market capitalization of the combined company is estimated at $5.4 billion, the two miners said in the statement.

Canada’s second-largest gold producer

The deal, expected to close by the second quarter of this year, will create a company with nine producing mines, one mine under construction, and five projects across five countries.

Equinox produced a record 621,870 oz. of gold in 2024 from seven operating mines in Canada, the US, Mexico and Brazil.

The company’s Greenstone mine in Ontario achieved commercial production in November 2024 and is expected to become one of Canada’s largest and highest-grade open-pit gold mines. At full production, it is projected to produce an average of 390,000 oz. per year for the first five years and 330,000 oz. annually over an initial 15-year mine life.

Equinox will now add Calibre’s Valentine gold mine in Newfoundland & Labrador. The mine is nearing construction completion, with first gold production targeted for mid-2025.

Calibre also has assets in Nicaragua and Nevada.

According to the two companies, the new Equinox Gold has the potential to produce more than 1.2 million oz. of gold annually with Greenstone and Valentine at full capacity, making it the second-largest gold producer in Canada behind Agnico Eagle, and a top 15 gold producer globally.

The proposed acquisition follows a series of major deals in the gold sector over the past year, including Gold Fields’ purchase of Osisko Mining and AngloGold Ashanti’s acquisition of Centamin.

Management of the combined company will include executives from both Equinox and Calibre. Greg Smith, Equinox’s current president and chief executive officer, will serve as its CEO, while Calibre CEO Darren Hall joins as its new president and chief operating officer.

The board of directors will consist of 10 members, with Ross Beaty serving as chair. Five additional directors will come from Equinox including Smith.

“The combination of Equinox and Calibre brings together two new Canadian cornerstone gold mines—Greenstone and Valentine — a portfolio of operating gold mines in the Americas, and two excellent operating teams to create a gold mining powerhouse,” Beaty said in a statement.

The company will continue to operate under the Equinox Gold name and remain headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.