Royal Gold to acquire Sandstorm, Horizon in $3.7B deal

[Ben Graham]

Royal Gold (NASDAQ: RGLD) is acquiring Canadian streaming and royalty firms Sandstorm Gold (TSX: SSL, NYSE: SAND) and Horizon Copper (TSXV: HCU) in deals worth a combined $3.7 billion. 

The Colorado-based company will pay about $3.5 billion for Sandstorm in an all-stock transaction and $196 million in cash for Horizon.

Under the Sandstorm deal, Royal Gold will issue 0.0625 shares for each Sandstorm share, representing a 21% premium based on the 20-day volume-weighted average price. Horizon shareholders will receive C$2.00 in cash per share, an 85% premium.

The acquisitions add 40 producing assets to Royal Gold’s portfolio, expected to deliver 65,000 to 80,000 gold equivalent ounces in 2025. Based on current forecasts, this would boost the company’s 2025 production by roughly 26%.

After closing, Royal Gold shareholders will own around 77% of the combined entity, while Sandstorm shareholders will hold the remaining 23%. The consolidated company will have 80 revenue-generating assets, with no single asset contributing more than 13% of net asset value. Precious metals will make up 87% of total revenue, with gold accounting for about 75%.

“[Thank to this combination] Royal Gold will remain firmly positioned as a leading North American precious metal streaming and royalty company,” president and CEO Bill Heissenbuttel said. “The addition of the Sandstorm and Horizon assets will create a global portfolio of precious metals interests that is unmatched in terms of asset diversification, development and organic growth potential.”

Key projects joining the portfolio include the MARA copper-gold project in Argentina, Hod Maden in Turkey, and the Platreef platinum group metals project in South Africa.

The boards of all three companies have approved the transactions, which are expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025, pending shareholder and regulatory approvals.