Activist investor scores a win

Article Excerpt

DETOUR GOLD CORP. $10 (Toronto symbol DGC; Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 175.0 million; Market cap: $1.8 billion; No dividends paid; Takeover Target Rating: Highest; www.detourgold.com) is an Ontario-based gold producer that owns 100% of the Detour Lake open-pit gold mine in the north of the province. The company expects the site’s production to average 656,000 ounces of gold annually over the course of the mine’s remaining 22 years. Paulson & Co., a New York-based hedge fund run by billionaire John Paulson, owns 5.7% of Detour’s stock. The activist has pushed the company to improve the operation of the mine and its expansion. Thanks to that pressure, shareholders recently ousted five of the company’s nine directors, including CEO Michael Kenyon and chairman Alex Morrison. Detour is now looking for a new CEO. However, any turnaround will take time. Operating costs at the Detour Lake mine were $1,377 U.S. an ounce in the third quarter of 2018. That’s higher than gold’s current price of $1,247 U.S. an ounce. Detour…