Agnico Eagle Mines - Creating a Canadian champion

On 28 September, Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM) announced that it is to combine with Kirkland Lake Gold (KL) in a merger of equals. Under the terms of the agreement, KL shareholders will receive 0.7935 AEM shares per KL share, which represents a c 1% price premium to KL’s 10-day volume weighted average price on the TSX. Upon closing, existing AEM and KL shareholders will own c 54% and 46%, respectively, of a combined company (called Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd) with a market capitalisation of c C$29.0bn (US$22.9bn). The merger has been unanimously approved by both boards of directors.