B
NEM
The gold dust settles
Barrick just got one less headache. The company settled its long-running Nevada Gold Mines fight with Newmont, with Newmont agreeing to pay $1.95 billion within 30 days. That clears a major obstacle for Barrick’s planned asset spinoff, which had been stuck in the mud while the two miners argued over who should control what — and at what price.
Why the market’s side-eye?
The stock didn’t exactly throw a party. Barrick shares fell sharply after the news, even though the company also beat Q2 estimates. That tells you investors are looking past the headline and straight at the price tag, which Bloomberg Intelligence analysts said may be "a little too low" for the quality of the asset.
- The deal implies roughly $325 an ounce in resource value.
- Analysts said the terms may tilt toward Newmont.
- The settlement ends a dispute that dates back to 2019, when Barrick launched its hostile bid for Newmont.
Spin-off season, now with fewer potholes
For Barrick, this matters because the company wants to simplify the structure and consolidate its North American assets into one entity. That’s the kind of corporate spring cleaning investors usually like — unless they think management left money on the table.
There’s also some boardroom drama hanging over the story. Bloomberg reported that some portfolio managers have pushed back on the spinoff plan, and one even called for Chairman John Thornton to step aside. So yes, this is more than just a miner-to-miner handshake. It’s a bigger fight over value, strategy, and who gets to steer the next chapter.
Big picture: Barrick removed a major legal hurdle, but the real debate now is whether it traded too much value for speed.