MADRID, 6 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Newmont mining group, the world's leading gold producer, has raised a non-binding merger offer with its Australian rival Newcrest through a share exchange that values ​​the transaction at around 17,000 million dollars (15,747 million euros), as confirmed by the companies.

Newmont's proposal calls for the delivery of 0.380 treasury shares for each Newcrest share, which would result in the combined company being 30% owned by Newcrest and 70% owned by Newmont.

"The proposed transaction would combine two of the leading gold producers in the sector and would set the standard for sustainable and responsible gold mining," the US company said.

"We believe that a combination of Newmont and Newcrest presents a powerful value proposition for our respective shareholders, workforce and the communities in which we operate," said Tom Palmer, Newmont Chairman and CEO.

For its part, Newcrest indicated that its board of directors, together with its financial and legal advisers, is analyzing the indicative proposal.