Newmont investors get behind world’s largest gold deal, sealing bid for Goldcorp

Shareholders in Newmont Mining have given the thumbs up to chief executive Gary Goldberg’s $10bn (£7.6bn) bid for rival Goldcorp.

The deal is set to create the world’s biggest gold miner, leapfrogging Barrick Gold, which clinched the top spot last year after another megamerger with Randgold.

Read more: Miner Barrick drops hostile bid for Newmont as firms agree joint venture

Around 98 per cent of the votes got behind the deal and the proposal to fund it with new stock.

Shareholders were won over by the offer of a $0.88 dividend per share which is set to be paid out on 1 May.

It comes a week after Goldcorp investors approved the biggest deal in the sector's history .The bid has been at the centre of controversy in recent months. After it was first announced Barrick launched a hostile offer for Newmont, which would have derailed the Goldcorp deal.

Tempers flared during the process, with Barrick chief executive Mark Bristow calling his counterpart Goldberg a “loser” at one point.

However, the two put aside their differences last month, as they came to an agreement on a joint venture in Nevada.

The latest deal could also open up more opportunities for acquisitive rivals in the gold mining business. The new merged business is expecting to sell between $1bn and $1.5bn in assets to focus in on its best operations.

Read more: Barrick and Newmont deal flurry helps smaller gold miners – executive

Barrick is also set to sell off several assets after the Randgold deal.

Shares in Newmont were trading down around 0.8 per cent in the US, Goldcorp shares also fell slightly.