Barrick Gold To Sell 50% Stake In Donlin Gold To Paulson, NovaGold For Up To $1.1 Bln Cash

(RTTNews) - Barrick Gold Corp. (GOLD), a mining company, on Tuesday announced an agreement to sell its 50 percent stake in the Donlin Gold Project in Alaska, held through its U.S. subsidiary, to affiliates of Paulson Advisers LLC and NovaGold Resources Inc. (NG) for $1.1 billion in cash.

The transaction is expected to be completed late in the second quarter or early in the third quarter of 2025.

The company aims to utilise the funds from the sale to improve the financial position, fund future growth, and continue providing returns to shareholders.

According to a statement from Barrick, Paulson will buy 80 percent and NovaGold will buy 20 percent of Barrick's interest in Donlin Gold LLC, which owns the Donlin Gold Project.

Both companies will pay their share of the total price based on their ownership. Some existing shareholders, including Paulson, are backing NovaGold's payment commitment.

Additionally, Barrick has also given NovaGold the option to buy the outstanding debt related to the Donlin Gold Project.

NovaGold can purchase it for $90 million before the deal closes, or for $100 million within 18 months after closing.

According to a statement from NovaGold, it will pay $200 million to increase its ownership in Donlin Gold LLC from 50 percent to 60 percent. Paulson will buy a 40 percent stake for $800 million and will become an equal partner in managing the Donlin Gold Project.

In the pre-market trading, Barrick Gold is 1.86 percent higher at $20.83 on the New York Stock Exchange.

In the pre-market trading, NovaGold is 8.68% higher at $3.38 on the New York Stock Exchange.