Toronto — Barrick Gold is withdrawing its $17.8bn hostile takeover bid for Newmont Mining, with the companies opting instead to forge a joint venture around their Nevada projects. The change came weeks after Barrick proposed an offer that would have created the world’s largest gold producer. After Newmont’s board rejected Barrick’s bid to buy Newmont in an all-share deal, Newmont CEO Gary Goldberg proposed the joint venture as an alternative both companies could gain from. Barrick’s decision ends two weeks of animosity between the two largest gold producers, helping Newmont focus on securing shareholder approval for its offer to buy Goldcorp. Newmont raised doubts about the Barrick bid proposal from the start, saying its previously announced agreement to take over Goldcorp offered better benefits.

“We listened to our shareholders and agreed with them that this was the best way to realise the enormous potential of the Nevada goldfields’ unequalled mineral endowment, and to maxi...

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