Gold Fields to buy Osisko Mining for US$1.6B cash

South Africa’s Gold Fields is buying Canada’s Osisko Mining in a deal valued at US$1.6 billion (C$2.16 billion) as record-breaking prices for the precious metal fuels mergers, acquisitions and expansions. 

The takeover, which grants the Johannesburg-based gold miner full ownership of the Windfall project in Canada, is its latest move to diversify beyond the home country. These efforts include an unsuccessful attempt to acquire another Canadian gold miner, Yamana Gold, two years ago.

Gold Fields will pay C$4.90 per share, a 55% premium to Osisko’s Aug. 9 trading price, it said in a statement. The deal will help the South African producer expand its presence in the Americas region, where it already has mines in Chile and Peru.

The deal makes Gold Fields the sole owner of the Windfall project in Quebec, which it has been developing in a 50:50 joint venture with Osisko.

“Over the past two years, beginning with our initial due diligence in 2022 and throughout our joint ownership of the project since May 2023, we have developed a strong understanding of Windfall and its potential, and view it as the next long-life cornerstone asset in our portfolio,” Gold Fields chief executive Mike Fraser said in a statement.

Gold Fields plans to bring the Windfall mine into production by the end of 2026 or early 2027, eventually ramping up to approximately 300,000 ounces annually. The project, along with the recently commissioned Salares Norte project in Chile, is central to the company’s growth strategy as it looks to replace output from aging assets in Ghana and Peru.”

Osisko’s board has given unanimous approval to the deal, calling on shareholders to support it. Chair and CEO John Burzynski said the transaction represented an early payout for Osisko investors and also reflected Windfall’s potential.

“In the span of nine years, we’ve transformed Windfall into one of the largest and highest-grade gold development projects globally, and this transaction is a testament to the extraordinary entrepreneurial effort of the Osisko Mining team,” Burzynski said in a separate statement.