Equinox Gold Consolidates Ownership of the Greenstone Gold Mine Arranges Term Loan and Bought Deal Equity Financing - Seite 2

Ross Beaty, Chairman of Equinox Gold, stated: “When we acquired our 60% interest in Greenstone in 2021, our goal was to ultimately own the whole mine. Consolidating 100% of Greenstone into Equinox Gold delivers our shareholders full exposure to a mine of outstanding scale and quality, in one of the best mining jurisdictions in the world, while meaningfully growing our expected production, cash flow and reserves.”

Greg Smith, President and CEO of Equinox Gold, commented: “Opportunities to own gold mines like Greenstone are incredibly rare in our industry, and the Greenstone Mine will now be the foundation for long-term value creation in our company. I also welcome Orion as a shareholder of Equinox Gold and thank them for being a great partner over the last few years, as together with the Greenstone team we have executed a very successful mine build. Greenstone is well into hot commissioning, with first gold in sight. Now, as full owners, we remain focused on advancing Greenstone to commercial production and look forward to surfacing its full potential.”

Istvan Zollei, Managing Partner of Orion, stated: “Orion has been an investor in the Greenstone gold project since 2016, and collaborative joint venture partners with Equinox Gold since 2021. We’ve been very pleased to see the crucial construction and operational milestones being delivered by the team and look forward to seeing the mine achieve its full potential. Our partnership with Equinox Gold has been outstanding and synergistic, and we look forward to our ongoing cooperation with the Equinox Gold team as a supportive shareholder.”

Transaction Funding

A syndicate of banks comprising The Bank of Nova Scotia, Bank of Montreal, ING Capital LLC and National Bank of Canada have provided underwritten commitments for a term loan of $500 million to be used to partially fund the cash consideration pursuant to the SPA (the “Term Loan”). The Term Loan will have a three-year term with no principal payments during the first two years. Commencing two years after the closing date, the Term Loan will be repaid in quarterly installments equal to 10% of the then outstanding principal amount of the Term Loan, with the remaining principal amount to be repaid at maturity. Interest, covenants and other terms are substantially consistent with the Company’s existing revolving credit facility. The Term Loan is expected to be completed in connection with closing of the Transaction.