Amsterdam, Netherlands, December 19, 2014 - Nord Gold N.V. ("Nordgold" or "the Company", LSE: NORD), an internationally diversified, low-cost gold producer, is pleased to announce that it has entered into agreements with six minority shareholders of Buryatzoloto OJSC, pursuant to which the Company has acquired 575,267 shares of Buryatzoloto (the “Shares”) in exchange for 2,876,335 newly-issued GDRs of Nordgold (the “Transaction”).
Based on the closing price of Nordgold’s GDRs on December 18, 2014 (US$ 1.50 per GDR), the transaction value is approximately US$ 4.3 million.
As a result of the Transaction, Nordgold has increased its voting interest in Buryatzoloto by 7.7% to 90.6%.
Nordgold has issued 2,876,335 new ordinary shares in the capital of the Company to the GDR Depositary. As a result, the total issued share capital of the Company increases by 0.76% and now comprises 380,998,290 ordinary shares. The Company’s freefloat increases by 0.65% to 14.34%. The share of Nordgold’s main shareholder Alexey Mordashov dilutes by 0.65% to 85.63% of the enlarged issued capital of the Company.
“Nordgold has operated Buryatzoloto since 2008, and in that time we have overseen a considerable improvement in performance. I am delighted to have completed this transaction, which gives us an increased stake in mines that we firmly believe have potential to further increase efficiencies and the life of mine. I also welcome new established shareholders to Nordgold, who will now benefit from the proven operational performance of the business, its growth outlook, and our commitment to delivering shareholder returns.” Nikolai ZelenskiChief Executive Officer of Nordgold
Nordgold (LSE: NORD) is an international low-cost gold producer established in 2007. The Company has expanded rapidly through carefully targeted acquisitions and organic investment, achieving a rate of growth unmatched in the industry during that period. In 2013 Nordgold’s gold production was 924 thousand ounces, up from 717 thousand ounces in 2012.
The company operates 9 active mines and has 2 development projects, 4 advanced exploration projects and a diverse portfolio of early-stage exploration projects and licenses in Russia, Kazakhstan, Burkina Faso, Guinea, French Guiana and Canada. Nordgold employs about 10,000 people.
Buryatzoloto OJSC is listed on Russian stock exchange MICEX and operates two mature underground gold mines — Irokinda and Zun-Holba — located in the Republic of Buryatia in Russia. These assets were acquired by Nordgold in late 2008 as part of the controlling interest in High River Gold. In 2013, Buryatzoloto produced 98.5 thousand ounces of gold equivalent. Buryatzoloto employs about 3,000 people.
Nordgold
Valentina Bogomolova
Head of IR
Tel: +7 495 644 4473
Olga Ulyeva
Head of Media Relations
Tel: +7 495 644 4473
Maitland
Peter Ogden
James Devas
Tel: +44 (0)20 7379 5151
