Sawiris-backed Endeavour Mining continues quest to become West Africa’s gold king: Canada’s Endeavour Mining is in talks over a merger with West Africa-based miner Teranga Gold, the companies said in separate statements (here and here) yesterday, without providing further details. Endeavour and Teranga are discussing a “merger of equals style” acquisition, which would see Endeavour add another mine to its portfolio in Burkina Faso and establish a footprint in Senegal. It is also mulling an all-stock agreement and could offer a lower premium for the company, sources told Bloomberg. Both companies said that the talks will not necessarily lead to an agreement.

A major play for West Africa: Endeavour, 24.12% owned by the Sawiris family, purchased Burkina Faso’s largest gold producer Semafo for USD 690.7 mn in March to create West Africa’s largest gold mining company. Post-Semafo, Endeavour is now one of the 15 largest gold miners in the world, producing 1 mn ounces each year. “The combination of Endeavour and Teranga would further solidify Endeavour as West Africa’s leading gold producer,” Raymond James analyst Craig Stanley told Reuters.

Calls for consolidation: The CEO of Barrick Gold has recently reiterated his calls for increased consolidation in the sector so companies can increase spend on exploration amid declining reserves. The surge in gold prices this year has pushed up company valuations, resulting in a slowdown in M&A activity after a flurry of agreements in 2018.