Post says B2Gold plans Papillon merger

2014-06-04 09:29 ET - In the News

The Financial Post reports in its Wednesday edition B2Gold hopes to move up the gold-mining pecking order after striking its fifth acquisition in less than seven years. The Post's Peter Koven writes B2Gold announced a $570-million (U.S.) all-stock takeover of Papillon Resources Ltd. on Tuesday, a deal that gives it the promising Fekola gold project in Mali. It is another milestone for B2 chief executive officer Clive Johnson, who is establishing himself as the single most prolific dealmaker in the sector. "We are the fastest-growing profitable gold producer in the world," Mr. Johnson said on a conference call. The recent history of mergers and acquisitions in the gold mining space has been mostly awful, with companies overpaying for assets and then recording massive writedowns. Mr. Johnson said B2's strong record should give people comfort that his team chooses good targets and integrates them well. "We've looked at literally hundreds of projects over the last six years or so at B2," he said. "It's alarming how few projects actually meet our requirements. This one [Fekola] definitely does." Papillon's Fekola project is expected to produce an average of 306,000 ounces a year over a nine-year mine life.