Eldorado Gold Corporation’s (Eldorado) acquisition of Sino Gold Mining Ltd by way of scheme of arrangement was approved by the Federal Court last week. The $2.4 billion acquisition is the largest Australian scrip deal of 2009, creating a combined group with a market capitalisation of approximately $8 billion.
The combined group will be listed on NYSE, TSX and the ASX. The cross border nature of the deal added significant complexity to the transaction, which involved managing legal issues across many jurisdictions including Canada, China, Hong Kong and the US, amongst others.
Freehills advised Eldorado on all Australian aspects of the transaction, with Fasken Martineau DuMoulin acting as Canadian legal advisor and Macquarie Capital Advisors as financial advisor.
The Freehills team was led by partner Tony Damian, supported by senior associate Andrew Rich, solicitors Stacia Super, Kate Logan, Clayton James and Ben Jones and a team of lawyers with expertise across corporate and employment law. Freehills worked in conjunction with Sino Gold’s legal advisors, Allens Arthur Robinson, led by partners Guy Alexander and Marcus Clarke.
Freehills partner Tony Damian, said of the transaction ‘The deal represents a strong outcome for both Eldorado and Sino Gold shareholders. It will create a leading global gold producer and the largest international gold producer in China, the world’s largest gold producing country.’
The market defining deal has already attracted significant international attention, recently winning ‘Deal of the Year’ at the prestigious Mining Journal Outstanding Achievement Awards 2009 in London.
Eldorado’s ASX listing is the largest of 2009, and illustrates the continued strength, flexibility and diversity of Freehills’ M&A team, in a year where Freehills was ranked No.1 in the Thomson-Reuters M&A League Tables (Australia & New Zealand) for the first three quarters of the 2009, advising on more deals than any other law firm in the region.
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