NEW YORK (AP) – Shares of Newmont Mining Corp, rose in Friday premarket trading amid a media report that Canadian metals miner Barrick Gold Corp. could make a bid for its rival.
BusinessWeek said Barrick could pursue Newmont for its “proven and probable” reserves and operations worldwide in Australia, Canada, Mexico and the U.S.
If such a deal were reached, Newmont would be priced in the mid-50s, according to sources cited by the financial weekly magazine.
Last month, Newmont’s fourth-quarter profit jumped more than threefold, lifted by higher gold prices, while Barrick’s robust gold production boosted fourth-quarter earnings more than twofold.