Barrick Gold Corp. bid $9.2 billion for rival Placer Dome Inc. on Monday, a deal that would create one of the world’s biggest gold miners with annual output of nearly 8.4 million ounces.
Barrick, already Canada’s biggest gold miner and the world’s third-largest, offered $20.50 a share for Placer, a 24 percent premium over the Vancouver-based company’s $16.51 closing price in New York on Friday.