By Sherry Qin
Chinese mining company CMOC Group's shares surged Tuesday after disclosing a plan to acquire Canadian miner Lumina Gold.
The company's Hong Kong-listed shares jumped 9%, taking year-to-date gains to 15%, outpacing the Hang Seng Index's 7.5% advance. CMOC's Shanghai-listed shares rose 4.6%.
The sharp share gains came after Lumina Gold on Monday disclosed the 581 million Canadian dollar acquisition, equivalent to US$419.7 million. CMOC will buy Lumina's shares at C$1.27 apiece, which represents a 41% premium to Lumina's closing price on Thursday.
Lumina is a Vancouver, British Columbia-based development company focused on the Cangrejos gold project located in El Oro province in southwest Ecuador.
The deal will give CMOC ownership of Lumina's Cangrejos project, which is the largest primary gold deposit in Ecuador.
Gold has notched a series of record highs as demand for the safe-haven asset jumped amid escalating trade tensions. Spot gold was last 1.6% higher at $3,479.67 per ounce after touching a fresh intraday high of $3,500.12 per ounce, according to ICE data.
CMOC, which is headquartered in central China's Henan province, is the world's leading producer of tungsten, cobalt, niobium and molybdenum and a major copper producer.
Citi analysts said the acquisition price is attractive and the deal should enrich CMOC's mining asset portfolio, as the Chinese company has no gold mine exposure after selling its 80% stake in the Northparkes Mines in New South Wales, Australia, in late 2023.
Write to Sherry Qin at sherry.qin@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
04-22-25 0307ET
