Newmont Corporation announced that is has submitted a revised non-binding indicative proposal that values Australia’s Newcrest Mining Ltd. at A$29.4 billion ($19.54 billion). Newcrest said it had given Newmont access to its books following the offer that would give Newcrest shareholders 0.400 Newmont share for every share held under the revised offer. The prior offer of 0.380 Newmont share had valued the Australian miner at $16.9 billion.

In addition, Newcrest would have the right to fund and pay to its shareholders a special dividend of up to USD$1.10 per Newcrest share. Newmont’s improved offer on these terms is best and final, subject only to no superior proposal emerging.

The Newcrest Board of Directors has agreed to grant Newmont confirmatory due diligence access to enable Newmont to put forward a binding proposal. Due diligence is expected to be completed within approximately four weeks. Newcrest has indicated that it intends to grant exclusivity to Newmont during the due diligence period, with the terms of that exclusivity still to be agreed. Newcrest will also undertake confirmatory due diligence on Newmont during this period.

“We are entering a new era in which mining companies must hold themselves to a higher standard of sustainability and long-term value creation. This transaction would strengthen our position as the world’s leading gold company by joining two of the sector’s top senior gold producers and setting the new standard in safe, profitable and responsible mining,” Tom Palmer, President and CEO of Newmont said in a statement. “Together as the clear gold-mining leader, we would be well-positioned to generate strong, stable and lasting returns with best-in-class sustainability performance for decades to come.”

The proposed combination creates the industry’s best portfolio of world-class assets with the highest concentration of top-tier operations, primarily in favorable, low-risk mining jurisdictions. Newmont would further strengthen its portfolio by increasing annual copper production and adding nearly 50 billion pounds of copper reserves and resources to its balanced and diverse asset base.

“By applying Newmont’s long track record of safe and profitable mining, the combined group is expected to deliver significant annual synergies and create long-term value for all stakeholders. The business would be immediately supported by Newmont’s scalable, integrated operating model with a deep bench of subject matter experts and existing regional platforms in Australia and Canada. This would allow the business to leverage the combined group’sglobal supply chain and generate substantial synergies through the implementation of Newmont’s proven Full Potential continuous improvement program,” Newmont said in a statement.

As demonstrated by the Goldcorp acquisition in 2019, Newmont delivered annual synergies of more than $1 billion, which continue to benefit the company today and over the long term. Over the last four years, these initiatives focused on optimizing processing circuits, improving loading and haulage performance, reducing mill and equipment downtime and implementing new methods and technologies to increase mining rates across the portfolio.

Newmont would also apply its rigorous and industry-leading approach to asset management, identifying potential opportunities to optimize the combined portfolio and bring forward the most accretive projects as part of its strategy to maximize value for shareholders and other stakeholders.