Impala Platinum Holdings announces acquisition of North American Palladium

The Lac des Iles mine has a new owner.

Impala Platinum Holdings Limited announced Monday it's acquiring North American Palladium (NAP).

NAP owns and operates Lac des Iles, which is located northwest of Thunder Bay.

Under the terms of the transaction, Impala will acquire 100 per cent of "NAP's issued and outstanding common shares for total cash consideration of approximately" $1 billion, the company said in a media release.

The acquisition has been approved by the boards of both NAP and Impala. However, the media release states the transaction is still subject to shareholder approval, as well as certain regulatory, court, and stock exchange approvals.

"This transaction delivers attractive value for our shareholders and reflects five years of hard work we have devoted to realize the potential of our assets," Gallagher, president and CEO of NAP, said in a statement.

"Our employees, suppliers, customers and community stakeholders can all join me in feeling tremendous pride at this pivotal moment in our company's history," he said. "By becoming a significant part of a larger, integrated global producer, we will benefit from greater access to technical, operational and financial resources with which to pursue our production, development and exploration objectives in Canada."

Impala currently runs five main mines in South Africa and Zimbabwe, where they mine platinum group metals.