AngloGold Ashanti’s next chief executive, dubbed Alberto Calderon on Tuesday, has ended a merger negotiations between the third-largest gold retailer and its South African counterparts, saying the company could reimburse those who will share “by doing the right startup”.
Calderon, a former corporate soldier, told the Financial Times that he was not surprised that rivals wanted to “take AngloGold” but said the company’s $ 8bn was already huge.
“When you have 3m ouns [of annual production] you have enough scales so growing to more than three units will not give you a contract per se, ”he said. “In a short period of time, years and months, the company can add huge profits.”
AngloGold is one of the worst gold companies in the world last year when a search for a new king was launched and the company did was forced to suspend work at an important mine in Ghana.
The idea of intrusion has been circulating in the Johannesburg-based company since Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Neal Froneman said in March it should be merged with AngloGold and Fields of Gold manufacturing precious metal in South Africa ngwazi.
“No one from Anglo has said anything about this,” Calderon said. “There are a few other players who would definitely be dying to join a company like AngloGold. I hope that in negotiating with the shareholders they can see what we have as we are today…
Calderon, a 61-year-old Colombian who was looking for a lucrative job at BHP before moving to Sir Andrew Mackenzie, to take the helm of AngloGold in September.
The company has had no leader since the sudden departure of the former Barrick chief executive in September Kelvin Dushnisky after two years of doing so.
Shares at AngloGold were up 5% on Tuesday’s Calderon election but down 45% in the last 12 months.
Tyler Broda, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, says the announcement is good because it has helped remove “leadership uncertainty” that weighs on AngloGold’s share price.
AngloGold, which originated in the mines controlled by Ernest Oppenheimer, sold residual mining in South Africa last year looking for rewarding jobs anywhere in Africa, Australia and the Americas.
This has led to the issue of the company relocating to London, an idea that could also help restart its shares. AngloGold sells at a 50% discount to company leaders Newmont Corporation and Barrick Gold.
Describing London’s list of “elephants in the room”, Calderon said it was a matter of concern but it was not a matter of immediate concern. “It’s part of what you can do to reduce discounts,” he said.
Calderon, who resigned as Australia’s largest Oremaker producer in March in March, said his first goal was to rebuild trust with investors.
He added that AngloGold should reassure the market that it can turn gold into a reserve and engage in it, such as prolonging the life of Geita Mine in Tanzania making a gold leaf in Colombia.
“I looked at the challenges the company faced and I think, to be honest, it has helped me,” Calderon added. “I mean, I mean, it was about environmental growth, it was about bringing jobs to work and boosting trust with stakeholders. It’s also about change in performance. That’s what I’ve done for 20 years.”
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