Sawiris to Buy Gold Miner La Mancha for $493 Million

Naguib Sawiris, the Egyptian billionaire founder of Orascom Telecom Holding SAE, plans to add gold to his investments after agreeing to buy Canada’s La Mancha Resources Inc. for about C$500 million ($493 million).

Sawiris’ Weather Investments II SARL will pay C$3.50 a share for La Mancha, the Montreal-based company said today in a statement. That’s 45 percent more than La Mancha’s 20-day average price before today and compares with the 50 percent average premium in gold takeovers valued $100 million or more announced this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.