Harmony Gold Mining Company's (NYSE:HMY,JSE:HAR) wholly owned Australian subsidiary, Harmony Gold (Australia), has entered into a binding agreement to acquire MAC Copper (NYSE:MTAL,ASX:MAC).
MAC is the owner of the CSA copper mine in New South Wales. Its annual production comes to approximately 40,000 metric tons of copper, with 2024 output totaling 41,000 metric tons of the red metal.
The transaction is priced at US$12.12 per MAC share in cash, implying a total equity value of US$1.03 billion for MAC.
“(This acquisition) is significant as it introduces a high-quality, established underground producing copper asset to the Harmony portfolio,” said Harmony Gold CEO Beyers Nel in a Tuesday (May 27) press release.
“The operation is a logical fit with the portfolio given it meets Harmony’s core investment criteria, including increasing free cash flow generation while improving margins at long-term expected commodity prices.”
Located 700 kilometers west-northwest of Sydney in the Cobar region, CSA has a history that stretches back at least 150 years. Its reserve life stands at over 12 years, and it has maintained a stable resource over the last decade.
Harmony believes CSA will be a valuable addition to its sole Australian asset, Eva, in Northwest Queensland. Harmony acquired Eva in December 2022, and believes it is set to become the state's biggest copper mine.
According to the company, Eva and CSA could together boost its copper production on the east coast of Australia to 100,000 metric tons annually over the course of the next five years.
The transaction remains subject to certain conditions, but MAC’s board has unanimously recommended that shareholders vote in favor of the scheme. Should everything follow to schedule, the deal is expected to close in Q4.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Gabrielle de la Cruz, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
