New Management Puts NovaGold in Barrick's Sights

NEW YORK (TheStreet ) - NovaGold's radical management shakeup and restructuring could set the stage for Barrick Gold to launch a takeover bid.

Gregory Lang, former president of Barrick Gold North America, will take the helm of NovaGold effective immediately. The company will spin off its copper project, Ambler, to create NovaCopper, a subsidiary, led by founder and former CEO Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse, and the company is open to selling half or all of its interest in Galore Creek, which it co-owns with Teck Resoures.

At the heart of the dramatic shift was money. Costs at Donlin Creek, one of the biggest gold mines in the world, grew from $4.5 billion to $7 billion, to be split evenly between NovaGold and Barrick. Now NovaGold, a $2.11 billion company will have to fork over $3.5 billion over the next 5 years before the mine even enters production. ...