Barrick extends NovaGold bid with 22.5% tendered

Vancouver – With about 20.6 million shares of NovaGold Resources (NG-T, NG-X) deposited under Barrick Gold‘s (ABX-T, ABX-N) US$16.00-per-share hostile bid, the gold giant is closing in on the halfway mark of its 50.1% minimum tender condition and has again extended its offer now set to expire on November 21st.

“Barrick is pleased with the significant increase in the number of shares tendered to our bid to date,” said Greg Wilkins, Barrick president and CEO. “We are anticipating that tenders to the bid will continue to increase during this extension as more NovaGold shareholders choose the cash in the bank our offer provides, rather than the significant project risk and financial dilution associated with remaining as a NovaGold shareholder.”

Following the senior’s fifth bid extension, NovaGold countered stating its shareholders have overwhelmingly rejected Barrick’s hostile offer. “After almost four months, four extensions and one token increase in the offer price, Barrick has persuaded the holders of only 19% of NovaGold shares on a fully diluted basis to tender to its undervalued and inadequate bid,” stated Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse, NovaGold’s president and CEO.

Shares of NovaGold closed at $18.00 and US$15.71 apiece on TSX and AMEX trading respectively following the extension notice, trading slightly below Barrick’s offer price.