Randgold, Barrick Gold confirm merger creating $18.3B mining giant

A mega-merger in the mining space was announced on Monday as Randgold Resources agreed to an all-share takeover by Barrick Gold.

The combination creates an $18.3 billion gold-mining giant.

Under the terms of the deal, each Randgold shareholder will receive 6.1280 new Barrack shares for each Randgold share held, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

Barrack shareholders will own around 66.6 percent of the combined business, with Randgold shareholders holding the remaining 33.4 percent, according to the companies.

Mark Bristow will become the President and CEO of the New Barrack Group.

The combined group will own five of the world's top 10 tier-one gold assets with 2 potential tier-one gold projects under development or expansion.

The new group will consider selling non-core assets over time.