Kinross in Potential Acquisition Deal

Kinross Gold has struck a proposed agreement to buy all of Canadian junior exploration company Underworld Resources' outstanding common shares in a C$139.2 million or about US$135 million deal.

By Andrea Tse , Mar 11, 2010 6:04 PM EST

NEW YORK (

TheStreet

) --

Kinross Gold

(KGC) - Get Report

has struck a proposed agreement to buy all of Canadian junior exploration company Underworld Resources' outstanding common shares in a C$139.2 million, or roughly US$135 million, deal.

Kinross would offer 0.141 of a Kinross common share, plus one penny in cash for each common share of Underworld, which represents an implied offer price of about $2.62 per common share. Underworld's key asset is the White Gold project

pictured above, in the Tintina gold belt south of Dawson City, Yukon Territory. The project has roughly 1.5 million ounces of resources.

Kinross stock is currently trading down 0.8% at $17.90, while rival

Barrick Gold

(ABX)

rises 0.8% to $39.10, as the company's chief executive Aaron Regent maintains his optimism about Barrick's ability to reach an agreement to develop the huge $3 billion Reko Diq gold-copper project in Pakistan, according to

Reuters

Barrick and Chilean copper mining company

Antofagasta

together own the majority of the project, while the local government owns the remaining stake. Many have been worried that the project might be in jeopardy after the local government threatened to withhold a mining license that the companies would need to move the project forward with the project.

-- Reported by Andrea Tse in New York

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