Republished January 21, 2015 - 6:49 AM
Original Publication Date January 21, 2015 - 5:55 AM
VANCOUVER - Goldcorp Inc. (TSX:G) has reached a deal to buy Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd.'s (TSX:AEM) stake in Probe Mines Ltd. (TSXV:PRB) for $43 million in cash.
The agreement follows Goldcorp's friendly all-stock offer to acquire full control of Probe and its Borden gold project in a deal valued at $526 million.
Under the side agreement with Agnico Eagle, Goldcorp will buy 7.32 million common shares of Probe at $5 each and 2.35 million share purchase warrants for $2.90 each. Each warrant entitles the holder to buy a Probe share for $2.10 until May 28, 2015.
Goldcorp says the shares and warrants acquired from Agnico Eagle will about double its stake in the junior mineral exploration company to 19.9 per cent.
Agnico Eagle said the stake in Probe was not a core part of its business, which includes nine mines in Canada, Finland and Mexico.
Goldcorp's offer to other Probe shareholders included 0.1755 of a Goldcorp share valued at $5 per share when the proposal was made, plus one share of a new public company for each Probe share.
The new public company will own Probe's assets in Ontario's Ring of Fire area and receive $15 million. Goldcorp would hold full ownership of the Borden gold project near Chapleau, Ont., and a stake in the new company.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2015