IAG - Iamgold raised to Buy at BofA after 'attractively priced' Rosebel sale

Iamgold ( NYSE: IAG ) is double upgraded to Buy from Underperform with a $1.65 price target, raised from $1.20, at Bank of America, which said the "attractively priced" sale of the Rosebel gold mine to Zijin Mining for $360M and the release of $41M in liabilities "substantially de-risks near-term project funding needs," which had been the bank's biggest concern about the company.

BofA said the deal consideration is well above its $177M carrying value, "a strong first step in addressing the funding gap for the development of the Cote gold mine."

BofA also sees limited risk to the deal winning regulatory approvals, since China and Suriname enjoy good bilateral cooperation.

Iamgold ( IAG ) shares -0.4% in late trading Wednesday, ahead of most gold producers which are sharply lower alongside gold futures .

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