Newmont shareholders back deal to buy Australia’s Newcrest

The news: Newmont Corp has moved a step closer to completing its acquisition of Australia’s top gold miner Newcrest after an overwhelming majority of its shareholders voted to back the deal.

The numbers: Newmont said more than 96% of votes cast at a special shareholder meeting on Wednesday came in favour of the deal. Newmont will issue shares to Newcrest Mining investors to complete the $26 billion takeover of its Australian rival.

The context: The Newmont vote came just days before Newcrest's own shareholders vote on the takeover on Friday, when they are expected to also back the deal. The combination has already received all regulatory clearances and the two companies expect to close the transaction in November. The combined gold and copper business is targeting at least USD2 billion in cash improvements through portfolio optimisation in the first two years.