Newmont strikes key deal

Article Excerpt

NEWMONT MINING $35.95 (New York symbol NEM; Shares outstanding: 532.7 million; Market cap: $19.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend: 1.6%; www.newmont.com) has now agreed to fold its gold mines in Nevada into a new joint venture with Barrick Gold Corp. (Toronto symbol GOLD). As a result, Barrick has dropped its hostile, all-stock takeover offer. The new Nevada operation will be the world’s largest gold producer, with annual production of over 4 million ounces and reserves of 48 million ounces. Under the terms of the deal, Barrick will own 61.5% of the joint venture and operate it. Newmont will own the remaining 38.5%. Eliminating overlapping processing and other operations should let the partners cut an average $500 million annually from their pre-tax costs within the first five years. Newmont Mining is still a buy, but only for aggressive investors who want to own a gold stock. stock…