http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/investment-ideas/streetwise/white-tigers-play-could-revive-troubled-century/article1941448/

White Tiger Gold (WTG-T3.25-1.30-28.57%) is a name you probably haven’t heard of.

The company’s shares were just listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange in late December, following a reverse takeover between SL Resources, a small Canadian firm, and Dalsvetmet, owned by Russian power player Max Finskiy.

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• White Tiger pounces on Century Mining

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When White Tiger went public, chief executive officer Geoffrey Cowley said he wasn’t looking at any acquisitions in the near future, and instead wanted to develop his Siberian mines. Less than three months later he's launched a deal to buy Century Mining(CMM-X0.670.0915.52%) in a share exchange worth $743-million.

Yet, Mr. Cowley may have been serious. Century has a troubled past, dating back to when it acquired its flagship Lamaque gold mine in Quebec from McWatters Mining, which was in financial distress. More recently, Century has had financial problems, searched for a new chief executive offer and experienced production problems at Lamaque.

White Tiger’s shares tanked after the deal was announced, but if you look a little closer you’ll see the share price is a bit misleading. Following a recent private placement, only about 10 per cent of the company’s outstanding shares trade publicly, so one or two sellers can have a huge impact on the stock price. Century, on the other hand, has popped, likely because its shareholders feel the company will be revived.

As for strategy, the deal is being sold as the creation of a mid-tier gold producer, but White Tiger is surely looking to diversify its assets by geography. Century has gold assets in Quebec and Peru.

Moelis & Co. is advising White Tiger and Blair Franklin is advising Century.