Barrick’s Thornton Said to Seek China Deal to Rebuild Gold Miner
At a Dec. 4 board meeting, Thornton will be confirmed as Barrick’s next chairman, succeeding Munk, 86, who plans to retire at the Toronto-based company’s next annual shareholders meeting after three decades, according to people familiar with the situation.
Thornton, 59, currently co-chairman, already helps to oversee long-term corporate strategy. As part of that remit, he’s trying to establish partnerships with Chinese companies that may include investment in Barrick and future mining projects, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing a private matter. China Investment Corp., the country’s largest sovereign wealth fund, is among potential partners Barrick has met with, the people said.
The leadership change at Barrick comes at the end of a difficult year for the company. It has lost 41 percent of its market value in 2013 while debt levels have soared after a slump in gold prices, rising operating expenses and a cost blowout at an $8.5 billion mining project in the Andes.
“Barrick needs to do whatever it can to get its debt paid down,” said Rick de los Reyes, who manages about $1.1 billion at T. Rowe Price Group Inc. in Baltimore. “That balance sheet is going to be a really big problem.”