Miner Barrick buys Randgold to create $18bn gold giant

Canadian mining giant Barrick Gold has bought Africa-focused rival Randgold Resources to create a global industry champion worth $18.3 billion, the pair said on Monday.

The blockbuster all-share deal was described as a merger but is effectively a takeover because Barrick investors will own a majority 66.6-percent stake. Randgold shareholders will hold the rest.

The enlarged company, keeping the Barrick name, will be traded in New York and Toronto. Randgold's London listing will be cancelled.

"The boards of Barrick Gold Corporation and Randgold Resources Limited are pleased to announce that they have reached agreement on the terms of a recommended share-for-share merger ... to create an industry-leading gold company," read the statement.

Randgold shareholders will receive 6.1280 new Barrick shares for every Randgold share under the terms of the deal.

Barrick executive chairman John L. Thornton will take up the same role at the new company, while Randgold chief executive Mark Bristow will retain his CEO position.

"The combination of Barrick and Randgold will create a new champion for value creation in the gold mining industry," said Thornton in the statement.

He added that the gigantic deal would bring "together the world's largest collection of tier one gold assets, with a proven management team that has consistently delivered among the best shareholder returns in the gold sector over the past decade".

The group will have a combined stock market capitalisation of 18.3 billion, and total annual revenues of approximately $9.7 billion.