Sale slashes debt

Article Excerpt

YAMANA GOLD $3.06 (Toronto symbol YRI; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (416-815-0220; www. yamana.com; Shares outstanding: 948.9 million; Market cap: $3.1 billion; Dividend yield: 0.9%) has agreed to sell its Chapada copper mine in Brazil to Lundin Mining (symbol LUN on Toronto) for over $1.0 billion. (All figures except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars.) Yamana will get $800 million U.S. when the deal closes, plus up to $125 million based on the price of gold and a further $100 million based on Lundin’s planned mine improvements. The company’s debt is $1.8 billion U.S., or a high 77% of its market cap. The Chapada sale will let Yamana sharply lower that amount and save over $35 million a year in interest costs. It will use some of that savings to boost its annual dividend by 100%, to $0.04 from $0.02. The stock will then yield 1.8%. Meanwhile, Yamana’s five remaining mines will give it a focus on gold and steady cash flow. Yamana Gold is a buy. buy…