On January 14, 2025, First Majestic Silver Corp. have completed the acquisition of all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Gatos Silver, Inc., in a transaction valued at approximately $1.31 billion (US$970 million).
First Majestic, which currently owns and operates the San Dimas Silver/Gold Mine, the Santa Elena Silver/Gold Mine, and the La Encantada Silver Mine—all located in Mexico—has now expanded its portfolio with this acquisition. Gatos is a silver-dominant producer with a 70 percent interest in the Los Gatos Joint Venture, owner of the producing Cerro Los Gatos underground silver mine in Chihuahua, Mexico.
Bennett Jones served as Canadian legal counsel to First Majestic, with a team including James Beeby, Lisa Stewart, Jeff Taylor, Claire Lingley, Madison Sutherland (M&A), Anu Nijhawan, Marshall Haughey (Tax), and Simon Grant (Financial Services). National Bank Financial acted as exclusive financial advisor to First Majestic, while TD Securities provided a fairness opinion to the board of directors. Dorsey & Whitney LLP acted as US legal advisors to First Majestic.
On the Gatos side, BofA Securities acted as exclusive financial advisor, and GenCap Mining Advisory Ltd. provided a fairness opinion to the Special Committee of the Gatos board of directors. Legal counsel was provided by White & Case LLP and McCarthy Tetrault LLP.
The McCarthy Tetrault team was led by Roger Taplin, Adam Taylor, and Shawn Doyle, and included Joe Furness, Peter Quon, Eva Bellissimo, Robert Antonecchia, Michele Zinsli Ma, Isabel Gonzales, Emma Good, Liam Peet-Pare, Dinah Holliday (Business), Susan Nickerson, Julia Miller (Pensions), Drew Morier, Matthew Kraemer (Tax), Jason Gudofsky, Erin Keogh (Competition), John Boscariol (Trade), Lauren Soubolsky (Labour and Employment), Sandra Lemieux (Litigation), and Natalie Estevan (Financial Services).