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If 2010 was the year of rising commodity prices, 2011 was the year of The Deal.
This year two key factors conspired to make the environment for mergers and acquisitions particularly attractive to mining companies. First, a continuing thirst for natural resources in developing countries had companies on the hunt for acquisition targets, particularly in iron ore, copper and coal. This despite a slowdown in the Chinese economy as Beijing’s multi-billion-dollar stimulus package faded and the government there struggled to battle inflation by tightening access to credit. Second, with average mining company debt at an all-time low and cash and profitability positions high, miners in general were in a good position to do deals.
While annual numbers are still being tabulated, there is good reason to assume that 2011 will shape up to be a good year for mining mergers and acquisitions. Ernst & Young data showed 779 deals worth $132 billion were shaken on in the mining sector from January to October. That’s up 67% from the $78.9 billion in the first nine months of 2010.
The gold sector generated much of the M&A activity, driven in large part by record cash flows spurred on by the high price of bullion, and the desire for big producers to seek new supplies.
So without further ado, here are our Top 10 mining mergers and acquisitions stories for 2011:
#1: Barrick announces $7.3 billion agreement to acquire Equinox
#2: Peabody’s $4.7 billion takeover of Macarthur clears final regulatory hurdle
#3: Consolidated Thompson shareholders approve $4.6 billion takeover by Cliffs
#4: Arch Coal completed $3.4 billion acquisition of International Coal Group
#5: Eldorado Gold Corp. makes $2.5B all-stock bid for European Goldfields Ltd.
#6: Canadian gold miner AuRico to buy Northgate Minerals for $1.48 billion
#7: Australia approves $1.3B Anvil Mining takeover
#8: Catalpa Resources and Conquest Mining announce $1.2 billion merger deal
#9: HK limo company closer to $931M takeover of two Australian iron ore juniors
#10: Rio outbids Cameco for Hathor Exploration in half-billion-dollar deal
2 Comments
Ji Khan
why cain India accusation by Vedanta Resources Plc not in this list??? which is 8.7 billion deal higher than any other.
MINING.com Editors
Hello Ji Khan,
We don’t cover oil and gas (except oilsands), so this deal was not on our radar.
– Andrew Topf, MINING.com Editor