Agnico Eagle Mines: Agnico Eagle & Kirkland Lake Gold merge

Agnico Eagle assumes the crown of the highest-quality senior producer in the gold industry, courtesy of the company’s latest merger with Kirkland Lake Gold. The two companies have combined as equals under the name Agnico Eagle Mines Limited, and they’re set to take the gold industry by storm with their sights fixed firmly on becoming ‘Canadian mining champions’.

“The merger will create a best-in-class gold mining company operating in one of the world’s leading gold regions, the Abitibi-Greenstone Belt of north-eastern Ontario and north-western Quebec, with superior financial and operating metrics,” said both parties involved in the merger. “Consolidation within the Abitibi will also provide the new Agnico Eagle with significant value creation opportunities through synergies and other business improvement initiatives. 

“Additionally, the company is established uniquely as the only gold producer in Nunavut and well-positioned internationally with profitable and prospective assets in Australia, Finland, and Mexico.”

Merger makes Agnico Eagle the highest-quality gold producer 

The merger is a strategic move on both parts, with the predicted combined production from both companies for 2021 sitting at around 3.4Moz of gold. Additionally, both Agnico Eagle and Kirkland plan to combine efforts in achieving improved ESG and sustainability performances, pledging to be net-zero by 2050.

“This merger starts a new chapter in Agnico Eagle’s 64-year history and creates the leading low-risk global company with growing production, low costs, and strong ESG leadership,” said Agnico Eagle’s Chief Executive Officer, Sean Boyd. “The translation creates a company with a strong platform of people, assets, and financial resources to continue to build and operate a long-term sustainable and self-funding business. 

“Kirkland Lake is an excellent cultural fit with Agnico Eagle, and we look forward to working together to further grow our business through exploration, mine development, and optimisation of our high-quality asset base. Over time, we believe that the gold industry will continue to evolve and consolidate and with this transaction, we are well-positioned to take advantage of high-quality opportunities and be a true Canadian mining champion.”

Hopes high as companies eye becoming ‘Canadian mining champions’

President and Chief Executive Officer of Kirkland Lake Gold, Anthony Makuch, mirrors a similar sentiment, equally as optimistic about the future potential offered up by the merger. 

“We are very pleased and excited to be entering into a combination with Agnico Eagle. It is a unique ‘strength-on-strength’ transaction that combines the two global gold producers with the best track records for increasing per-share value. 

“The deal creates an industry leader with a dominant position in the Canadian market that is deserving of a premium valuation and is poised to generate superior long-term shareholder value going forward. The transaction represents a true merger of equals, with the business of both companies to benefit from the significant financial strength of the merged company, the extensive pipeline of development and exploration projects to drive future growth, and the potential to realise significant operational and strategic synergies along to Abitibi-Kirkland Lake corridor. 

“It is the right deal for our company and its shareholders, our people, the communities where we operate, and all of our key stakeholder groups.”