thanks G from KRY board

http://agoracom.com/ir/Crystallex/forums/discussion/topics/433511-bn-gold-takeovers-set-record-to-boost-fees-at-bmo-hsbc-update1/messages/1417815#message

http://ca.news.finance.yahoo.com/s/02082010/2/biz-finance-kinross-gold-corp-buys-red-mining-s-outstanding.html

edited snippets:

Kinross Gold Corp.’s purchase of Red Back Mining Inc. for about $7.1 billion yesterday took the value of gold deals to $32 billion this year, accounting for 38 percent of all mining acquisitions, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s more than twice last year’s total for the industry.

The shareholders of Vancouver-based Red Back Mining will receive 1.778 Kinross common shares, plus 0.110 of a Kinross common share purchase warrant for each Red Back common share held.

Our board of directors has unanimously recommended this friendly combination to Red Back Shareholders. This is a fair offer with an attractive premium above current market price, and Kinross is a great partner," said Red Black president and CEO Richard Clark.

Red Back's two key projects are the Chirano Gold Mine in Ghana and the Tasiast Gold Mine in Mauritania. It also holds an extensive exploration portfolio both in Ghana and Mauritania.

Analysts estimate the combined company's gold production would be approximately 3.9 million ounces in 2015.

"The reason why we may have seen a pickup in activity this year is because gold prices are around $1,200" an ounce, said Greg Fournier, Hong Kong-based head of Asia Pacific region metals and mining investment banking at Merrill Lynch. "If you have a view that the gold price is strong and is going to go higher then acquiring more reserves or producing properties today makes sense."

China’s Growth

Takeovers may increase as China, the world’s largest gold producer, backs acquisitions abroad. The nation’s central bank today said it will help its bullion companies expand overseas by extending credit lines and offering loans. The bank also said it will let more banks import and export gold, and wants to spur the development of yuan-denominated derivatives trading.

"The larger companies like Barrick and Newmont and Goldcorp, Kinross in North America in particular, they are all very active consolidators," Merrill Lynch’s Fournier said in an interview. "They will continue to be pretty active buying smaller companies and also potentially we’ll see some mergers of some of the senior companies at some point in time."

Barrick, the world’s biggest producer, and Newmont, the largest U.S. gold company, have both signaled in the past two months that they may consider "opportunistic" acquisitions.