Eldorado Gold and European Goldfields announced on December 18, 2011, a friendly agreement whereby Eldorado would acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of European Goldfields by way of a plan of arrangement. The transaction values European Goldfields at about C$2.5 billion in Eldorado shares, options and cash. Market capitalization of the combined company would be about C$11 billion.
The transaction requires the approval by at least 66-2/3% of the votes cast in person by the shareholders of European Goldfields and a majority of Eldorado shareholders at separate shareholder meetings planned to be held in February 2012. Each of the directors and senior officers of Eldorado and European Goldfields agreed to vote in favor of the transaction. Assuming completion of the transaction, current Eldorado and European Goldfields shareholders will hold approximately 78% and 22% of the combined company, respectively.
European Goldfields is a precious metals development company with attributable gold reserves of 9.2 million oz and assets in Greece, Romania and Turkey. The company currently operates the Stratoni mine in Greece and is developing the Skouries and Olympias projects in Greece and the Certej project in Romania.
Eldorado operates the Kişladağ and Efemçukuru gold mines in Turkey; the Jinfeng, Tanjianshan and White Mountain gold mines in China; and the Vila Nova iron ore mine in Brazil. In China, the company is constructing the Eastern Dragon gold mine, which is scheduled to start production in the third quarter of 2012. Development projects include Perama Hill in Greece and Tocantinzinho in Brazil. Exploration programs are active in China, Turkey, Brazil and Nevada. Eldorado’s gold reserves total 18.2 million oz.
Based on current project scheduling, gold production of the combined company is projected to increase from about 650,000 oz/y currently to 1.5 million oz/y by 2015.
