(Adding commentary from Wedbush in the second paragraph and share prices in the third paragraph)
Equinox Gold (EQX.TO) and Orla Mining (OLA.TO) have entered into an agreement to combine into a new North American senior gold producer under the name of Equinox Gold, the companies said on Wednesday.
According to Wedbush in a 'Special Situations' note published a short time ago, the stock should trade well near-term as the market prices in the re-rating from mid-tier to senior producer status, with the primary risk being gold price reversion and Mexican regulatory complexity around Camino Rojo/Los Filos.
At last look, EQX was down 2.7% and ORLA down 0.8% in US premarket trade.
Under the agreement, Equinox Gold will acquire all of Orla's issued and outstanding shares. Orla shareholders stand to receive 1.00 Equinox Gold common share and a nominal cash payment of $0.0001 for each Orla common share held prior to the effective time of the transaction.
At deal completion, existing Equinox Gold shareholders and former Orla shareholders will own about 67% and 33% of the outstanding common shares of the combined company, respectively.
The combined company will have about 1.1 million ounces of expected annual gold production and an implied market capitalization of US$18.5 billion.
It will be anchored by three long-life Canadian gold mines, with a clear path to more than 1.9 million ounces of annual gold production from an internally funded North American growth pipeline.
The combined company will be led by executives and directors from both Equinox Gold and Orla. Equinox Gold's chief executive officer, Darren Hall, will remain as CEO. Orla's president and CEO, Jason Simpson, will join Equinox Gold's leadership team as president.
The board of directors of the combined company will consist of 11 directors, with Chuck Jeannes as chair, along with six directors from Equinox Gold and an additional four directors from Orla.
The transaction will require approval by 66.67% of the votes cast by the shareholders of Orla at a special shareholders meeting expected to be held in July.
The issuance of Equinox Gold common shares is subject to approval by the company's shareholders by a simple majority of the votes cast at a special shareholders meeting also scheduled for July.
The board of directors of each of the companies have each unanimously approved the transaction and recommend that their respective shareholders vote in favor of the deal.
The deal is expected to close in the third quarter, subject to the satisfaction of certain closing conditions.