Why SSR Mining Stock Shined Like Gold Today
The precious metals specialist put its signature on a sale document.
Precious metals miner SSR Mining (SSRM +6.71%) was surely worth its weight in gold, silver, zinc, etc. to many investors on Wednesday. They cheered the company's update of an asset sale, sending the shares up by almost 7% across the day's trading. 1.5 billion reasons to like SSR In a tersely worded press release, SSR said it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its 80% holding in the Çöpler mine, along with related assets, located in Turkey. The purchaser is Cengiz Holding, a sprawling industrial conglomerate based in that country, and the price is $1.5 billion. The transaction will be effected fully in cash.
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The outlines of the deal match the details provided by SSR when it first announced the transaction earlier this month. The company's move is part of a broader effort to become less of an international mining enterprise and narrow its focus to operations in the Americas. In its original press release on the Çöpler deal, it said that it expects to use the funds it'll receive on the sale for "continued reinvestment in the business,capital returns, and accretive growth initiatives." It did not get more specific. The closing of the deal is subject to regulatory approval from the relevant regulatory bodies. The transaction should be completed in the third quarter of this year, SSR wrote. ExpandNASDAQ: SSRMSSR MiningToday's Change(6.71%) $1.64Current Price$26.08Key Data PointsMarket Cap$5.0BDay's Range$25.62 - $26.7752wk Range$8.65 - $33.49Volume5MAvg Vol4.1MGross Margin35.73% Selling out SSR seems to be putting its money where its mouth is with this transaction by unloading an overseas asset. It also feels like this deal is being done efficiently, with enthusiasm from both the buyer and the seller. $1.5 billion is a lot of scratch, even for the hulking SSR. I think much will depend on how wisely it deploys those funds for its operations; just now, gold, silver, and other precious metals are on something of an upswing, so any expansion of mining capabilities is welcome at the moment.