Newly appointed AngloGold Ashanti CEO Alberto Calderon has dismissed rumors of an imminent merger with two other market players in South Africa, Reuters reported.
The rumors surfaced after Sibanye-Stillwater Founder Neal Froneman stated that his company should merge with its peers Gold Fields and AngloGold Ashanti to create a gold mining leader to beat out the U.S.-based Newmont, the world’s largest gold mining company. Sibanye is the world’s biggest platinum producer.
In April, Reuters reported Froneman as saying that consolidation is necessary if South Africa-domiciled companies hope to compete at the global level. The statement stirred rumors that a merger was underway. Calderon, however, debunked the gossip today.
The new CEO further revealed plans to remove a large percentage of the discount at which the company trades gold internationally, compared to other players.
News of Calderon’s appointment has seen the company’s share price rise by more than four percent, outpacing its peers Harmony Gold and Gold Fields on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange before slightly giving up gains today.
When former AngloGold CEO Kelvin Dushnisky resigned last year at the height of the pandemic, the company’s share price dropped in response to his move.
Yesterday, Calderon’s appointment was announced after months of Christine Ramon serving as the company’s interim CEO. He will resume office on Sept. 1.
AngloGold Ashanti is a global gold mining company founded in 2004 after the merger of AngloGold and Ashanti Goldfields Corporation. It is listed on the New York, Johannesburg, Accra, London and Australian stock exchanges, as well as the Paris and Brussels bourses.
