Two leading firms advise as iconic mine is sold along with several associated assets
Two leading firms have advised in the sale of an iconic mine along with several associated assets.
Ashurst advised Northern Star Resources in its acquisition of a 50% stake in Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines (KGCM) Super Pit for US$800m, or about $1.17bn. The top firm also advised on the equity raising associated with the acquisition, which also included several associated assets.
King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) advised Newmont Goldcorp in the sale of the gold mining operations, which are located in Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. KWM said that Northern Star is funding the acquisition through debt and a major underwritten equity raising worth more than $800m.
Barrick Gold earlier sold its half-stake in KGCM for US$750m to Saracen Mineral Holdings. DLA Piper and Herbert Smith Freehills advised in that deal. These two deals will make KGCM a 50:50 joint venture between Northern Star and Saracen.
The sale also included a separate parcel of nearby Kalgoorlie tenements wholly owned by Newmont, transitional services arrangements at no direct cost to Northern Star, and a US$25m conditionally refundable option arrangement to acquire the Newmont power generation business in WA, which supplies KGCM, Ashurst said. The deal for the power business is still subject to further due diligence.
The Ashurst team was headed by partners Antonella Pacitti, Roger Davies, and Lorenzo Pacitti. They were supported by senior associates Richard Shi and Christopher Barry, as well as lawyers Jacob Carmody, Amy Saunders, Daniel Ravikovitch, Brandon McEvoy, and Joseph Nguyen.
The KWM team was led by partners Scott Langford and Will Heath. They were supported by a team headed by special counsel Michael Robertson, which also included partner Tim Edwards, senior associate Tian Xu and solicitors Lachlan Fahey, Lucius Moser, Luci Kjar-Cruttenden, and Jordan Osrin.
