Barrick Gold Looking for Deals but not at any price
Globe says Barrick's expansionist boss can't find deals
2021-08-10 07:59 ET - In the News
The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that 2-1/2 years into his tenure as Barrick Gold's chief executive officer, Mark Bristow is sticking to the party line, reassuring investors that miners have learned from past mistakes and will not overpay for takeover transactions.
The Globe's Tim Kiladze quotes Mr. Bristow saying in an interview, "We blew our brains out over the last big bull market."
After enduring billions of dollars of writedowns and adding boatloads of debt, he has a new mantra for Barrick,
We're not putting our balance sheet at risk."
Mr. Bristow is a conflicted man, because in almost the same breath he acknowledges that he would love for Barrick to get bigger.
After all, this is a man who, without hesitation, publicly floated merging with giants Newmont Mining and Freeport McMoRan in the past, only to be rebuffed.
Although those giants are currently out of reach because their shares have performed better than Barrick's, Mr. Bristow still sees expansion as a necessity.
"If you're larger, you attract generalists on to your register," he said on a conference call Monday after the miner reported quarterly earnings.
"And this industry needs consolidation by that very thesis."