B2Gold Corp. ("B2Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the successful completion of the scheme of arrangement ("Merger") by which B2Gold has acquired all of the issued ordinary shares of Papillon Resources Limited ("Papillon"). As of today, and including the 237,390,819 shares issued as consideration under the Merger for the former share and option holders of Papillon, B2Gold has 917,514,320 shares issued and outstanding.
A confirmation of B2Gold share holdings will be sent by B2Gold's transfer agent to the former holders of Papillon shares and options that are receiving the Merger consideration in the form of B2Gold shares.
Trading of the Papillon shares on the Australian Stock Exchange ("ASX") was suspended on September 23, 2014, and the shares are expected to be delisted from the ASX on October 3, 2014.
The combination of B2Gold and Papillon will result in a merged entity that will be focussed on furthering the development of the Fekola project in Mali, optimizing B2Gold's existing Masbate, Limon and La Libertad mines, and completing construction of the Otjikoto mine in Namibia. B2Gold expects to produce 395,000 - 420,000 ounces of gold in 2014 and approximately 540,000 ounces of gold in 2015. B2Gold is well positioned to progress further development at the Fekola project given its strong funding capacity and a management team with significant mine development and operating experience. In addition, B2Gold has a highly regarded and experienced exploration team that sees significant exploration potential at Fekola.
Clive Johnson, President and Chief Executive Officer of B2Gold, stated, "At B2Gold, we are excited about the merger with Papillon as it will add the high grade Fekola project to our rapid growth as a profitable gold producer. We believe this merger will bring great value to all shareholders and we congratulate Papillon's strong team on advancing the impressive Fekola project to a robust prefeasibility study and look forward to working together to advance the project to production. We would like to thank the B2Gold and Papillon shareholders for their strong support for the merger."
Mark Connelly, formerly the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Papillon, was appointed to the board of directors of B2Gold effective upon the implementation of the Merger, with the existing nine directors of B2Gold continuing as directors.
About B2Gold
B2Gold Corp. is a Vancouver-based gold producer with two mines in Nicaragua, one mine in the Philippines, one mine under construction in Namibia and a strong portfolio of development and exploration assets in Nicaragua, the Philippines, Namibia and Colombia. B2Gold was founded in 2007 by the former executive and management team of Bema Gold Corporation. Bema grew from a junior explorer to an international gold producer that was acquired by Kinross Gold Corporation through a C$3.5 billion transaction in February 2007. B2Gold's corporate objective is to build further shareholder value through the exploration and development of existing projects and additional accretive acquisitions, capitalizing on the extensive experience and relationships that management has developed over the past 25 years. B2Gold trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "BTO", on the NYSE MKT under the symbol "BTG" and on the Namibian Stock Exchange under the symbol "B2G".
ON BEHALF OF B2GOLD CORP.
Clive T. Johnson, President and Chief Executive Officer
Source: http://www.b2gold.com/