Canada's OceanaGold to buy Ausgold for about $553m, expand Australia presence

This audio is brought to you by Endress and Hauser, a global leader in process and laboratory measurement technology, offering a broad portfolio of instruments, solutions and services for industrial process measurement and automation. Canadian gold and copper producer OceanaGold plans to acquire Australia's Ausgold in a deal valued at A$776-million ($552.74-million), the companies said on Monday. The deal represents a premium of 27.7% to Ausgold's previous close on Friday and gives OceanaGold ownership of the Katanning project in Western Australia. Trading in Ausgold's shares was halted earlier in the day ahead of the announcement. Ausgold shareholders will own about 6% to 8% of OceanaGold upon completion of the deal. "This marks our first acquisition in Australia, and we are excited to build on the great work done by the Ausgold team to further optimize the development of the Katanning Gold Project for the benefit of both OceanaGold and Ausgold shareholders," OceanaGold CEO Gerard Bond said.