Barrick Gold Corporation inked an agreement to acquire 9,875,876 ordinary shares of Royal Road Minerals Limited at a price of 16 Canadian cents per share, for total consideration of roughly C$1.6 million. The transaction will be made through a non-brokered private placement and is expected to close on or by Feb 9.

Following the deal closure, Barrick will own 20,980,276 ordinary shares of Royal Road, which represents around 12.5% of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares of the latter, on a non-diluted basis.  

Notably, Barrick acquired the shares for the investment purposes. Subject to market conditions and other factors, the company may acquire additional ordinary shares or other securities of Royal Road or dispose of some or all of the common shares or other securities of Royal Road that it owns.

Barrick, which is placed amongst the top gold producers with peers such as Newmont Mining Corporation (NEM Quick QuoteNEM - Free Report) , Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (AEM Quick QuoteAEM - Free Report) and Goldcorp Inc. , is making progress with its cost-improvement programs. Its all-in sustaining costs is among the lowest in the gold mining industry.

Barrick also remains committed to de-leverage its balance sheet.  The company has cut its total debt by roughly $1 billion in third-quarter 2017 and also exceeded its initial target to reduce debt by $1.45 billion for 2017.

Barrick looks to reduce its total debt by $2.9 billion to $5 billion by the end of 2018 using cash flows from operations. The company’s aggressive debt reduction action should further lower its interest expenses in 2018. Improving balance sheet is also expected to allow the company to look for acquisition opportunities for growth this year.

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