March 28 (Bloomberg) -- Barrick Gold Corp., the world's third- biggest gold producer, may receive a takeover offer from larger rival Newmont Mining Corp., the Sunday Telegraph reported, without saying where it got the information.
A five-year agreement barring a transaction is coming to an end, the paper said. The combination would create the largest gold mining company with reserves of 177 million ounces, the paper said. It also may lead to pretax cost savings of $300 million, the paper said citing analysts at National Bank Financial of Canada.
Barrick Chief Executive Greg Wilkins told the paper he is not interested in using the company's stock in a transaction and would ``strongly oppose'' a hostile bid.
Barrick, based in Toronto, is valued at C$16 billion ($12 billion) and Newmont at C$20.5 billion.
(The Daily Telegraph 03-28, business 2)
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