To date, this is the largest M&A deal in Australia for 2023, firm says
King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) has advised Newmont Corporation on its landmark $26bn acquisition of Newcrest Mining Limited – a deal that the firm said is the largest M&A deal in Australia to date this year.
The acquisition was completed via a scheme of arrangement and officially closed on 6 November. Through the transaction, Newmont makes its comeback to the ASX via a foreign exempt listing in Australia; Newmont CDIs will be trading on the ASX.
With this deal, the company's market capitalisation has surged to over $65bn. Newmont issued 357,691,627 new shares of Newmont common stock, including 15,720,585 new Newmont shares, 341,792,611 shares underlying new Newmont CDIs and 178,431 shares underlying new Newmont PDIs, according to the company’s press release.
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According to KWM lead partners Scott Langford (projects), Will Heath, and Antonella Pacitti (M&A), the transaction “the tone for some exciting deal making activity in the metals and mining sector, including gold.”
KWM helped to facilitate all aspects of the deal's completion. The team assisted Newmont with clearing global approval and regulatory hurdles such as obtaining Australian Foreign Investment Review Board approval as well as crucial competition approvals in key operational regions like Papua New Guinea (PNG). The team also secured the endorsement of both organisations’ shareholders and coordinated the listing of Newmont and its securities on both the ASX and the PNGX, the firm said.
In working on the deal, specialist input was provided by partners Simon Cooke (competition), Adrian Perkins (projects), Greg Protektor (tax), and Ruth Rosedale (employment). The team was supported by core members Jacob Carmody, Jennifer Bell, Adam Caldwell, and Jessica Zuiderwijk.
A team from Dentons advised Newmont on the PNG aspects of the deal. The team consisted of PNG head Stephen Massa, corporate partner Steve Patrick and managing associate Rachel Austin. The team collaborated closely with senior partner Lady Winifred Kamit and senior associate Komdal Lonagata.