CIBC World Markets

CIBC World Markets is part of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.

For over a century, it has claimed “close involve[ment] in the mining industry and to be “stand[ing] at the forefront of the industry as a recognized leader in providing financing and advisory services to mining companies around the globe.”

The bank’s metals and mining professionals are located in Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney, London and New York, with mining investment bankers recently established in Hong Kong and Beijing.

As a global leader in mining M&A advisory (it’s the biggest in Canada), equity underwriting and project financing, CIBC has undertaken assignments for mining companies in North and South America, Australia, Europe, Asia and Africa.

Among its gold and base metals equity transactions have been ones with:

• Placer Dome (USD$468 million)

• Noranda (CAD$614 million)

• Centerra (CAD$282 million)

• Etruscan Diamonds SA (private placement) [MJ 16 March 2007]

Among the bank’s M&A lead advisory roles have been those in:

• the 2007 merger between Rio Tinto and Alcan (worth USD$44.0 billion)

• Xstrata’s 2006 takeover of Falconbridge (CAD$27.0 billion)

• Barrick’s earlier absorption of Placer Dome (USD$10.7 billion)

• Goldcorp’s acquisition of Glamis Gold (USD$8.5 billion)

• Noranda’s successful 2005 bid for Falconbridge (CAD$4.5 billion)

• Teck Cominco’s take out of Aur (CAD$4.1 billion)

• Katanga’s 2007 takeover of Nikanor (USD$2.1 billion), and

• AngloGold’s merger with Ashanti Gold (USD$1.7 billion).

In addition, CIBC has been a lead arranger of financing for some of the largest mining projects, including for:

• Antamina (Xstrata, BHP Billiton, Teck Cominco, Mitsubishi, Peru,)

• Alumbrera (Xstrata, Northern Orion, Goldcorp, Argentina)

• Collahuasi (Anglo American, Chile)

• Bulyanhulu (Barrick Gold, Tanzania)

• Diavik (Rio Tinto, Canada)

• Las Cruces (Inmet, Spain)

• Mina Justa (Chariot Resources and Korean partners, Peru)

• Quebrada Blanca (Teck Cominco, Chile)

[Information from CIBC website, 20 January 2008 and other sources]

In September 2008, CIBC joined a syndicate of underwriters, led by RBC Capital Markets (qv) which included UBS Securities Canada Inc. and Raymond James Ltd, to promote Banro Corporation’s gold projects in DR Congo.

Goldman Sachs Canada Inc. joined CIBC World Markets Inc. as co-lead managers and joint book runners of a share offering for Pan American Silver in February 2009; with. UBS Securities Canada Inc., Merrill Lynch Canada Inc., RBC Dominion Securities Inc., National Bank Financial Inc, Raymond James Ltd., Salman Partners Inc and Canaccord Capital Corp acting as co-managers of the Offering [Marketwire, 5 February 2009].

Two months later, CIBC also joined with Goldman Sachs as joint bookrunner for a CDn$ 88 milion share issue on behalf of Equinox Minerals, to be used to strengthen the company’s position in the important Lumwana copper projet in Zambia [MJ 10 April 2009].

In November 2010, CIBC's small-cap gold mining analyst, Cosmos Chui (sic) identified the following companies,in which Bank invested, as "current top picks": Semafo Inc, Aurizon Mines Ltd, Silver Wheaton Corp, Fronteer Gold Inc, and Orezone Gold Corp [Tornto Globe and Mail, 16 November 2010].