Great Bear Royalties Corp. has entered into a binding agreement with International Royalty Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Royal Gold Inc., to acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of the company. Great Bear Royalties shareholders will receive all-cash consideration of C$200 million (US$151.9 million), representing C$6.65 per Great Bear Royalties common share on a fully diluted basis. The transaction price represents a premium of 51.1% and 43% to the closing price and the 20-day VWAP, respectively, of Great Bear Royalties’ shares on July 8.
“After a thorough strategic review process, we are very pleased to provide this all-cash premium offer to our shareholders,” Great Bear Royalties President and CEO Calum Morrison said. “Following the significant discoveries made by Great Bear Resources Ltd.’s exploration team in 2019, the spinout of a 2% NSR in 2020 into Great Bear Royalties aimed to provide shareholders with the best possible value accretion.”
Following the acquisition of Great Bear Resources by Kinross Gold Corp. for approximately C$1.8 billion (US$1.4 billion) in early 2022, there has been lots of interest in Great Bear Royalties, Morrison added.
The transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2022.
“The Great Bear saga represents one of the great Canadian gold discoveries of the past century,” Board Chair John Robins said. “From the identification of a previously overlooked part of the Red Lake Camp and the application of best-in-class geoscience, the amount of value created for all stakeholders has been significant. The sale of Great Bear Royalties to Royal Gold is the culmination of value creation for our shareholders, and we very much look forward to following the development of the Great Bear project.”
In addition to approval by Great Bear royalties’ shareholders, the transaction is also subject to the receipt of court approval, regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions for transactions of this nature.
Great Bear Royalties is a precious metals royalty and streaming company. The company’s principal asset is a 2% Net Smelter Royalty on Kinross Gold Corp.’s Great Bear Project located in northwestern Ontario. The Great Bear Project is Canada’s newest major gold discovery, with one of the largest exploration programs in the country currently under way with an objective to further establish its status as a potential Tier 1 gold project.
