(Bloomberg) -- Newcrest Mining Ltd. agreed to buy Pretium Resources Inc. in a cash and shares deal valuing the Canadian gold producer at about $2.8 billion, adding to a wave of consolidation in the sector.

Melbourne-based Newcrest will offer Pretium holders C$18.50 ($14.87) a share, a 23% premium to the target’s closing price Monday in Toronto. The transaction is unanimously recommended by Pretium’s board and requires the approval of two-thirds of the company’s shareholders. 

The deal would “deliver immediate production, free cash flow and earnings diversification to Newcrest and will fit seamlessly into our long-life, low-cost portfolio,” Sandeep Biswas, Newcrest’s chief executive officer, said in a statement. Adding Pretium, which owns the Brucejack operation close to Newcrest’s Red Chris mine in British Columbia, would immediately add more than 300,000 ounces a year of gold output, the company said.

Newcrest, which already owns a 4.8% shareholding in Pretium, last year added a new listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange to support efforts to extend its exposure to projects in the Americas, and previously flagged plans to pursue further acquisitions -- including in Canada.

Another Canadian miner, Golden Star Resources Ltd., last week agreed to be acquired by Chifeng Jilong Gold Mining Co. in a $470 million deal that gives the Shanghai-listed company access to a gold mine in Ghana. In September, Agnico Eagle and Kirkland Lake Gold announced a “merger of equals” valued at about C$13.4 billion. 

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