(Reuters) - Canadian miner Centerra Gold Inc (>> Centerra Gold Inc.) said on Tuesday it would buy smaller rival AuRico Metals Inc (>> AuRico Metals Inc.) in a deal valued at C$310 million ($243 million).
Centerra offered C$1.80 per share in cash, a 38.5 percent premium to AuRico last close on Monday.
Canadian miners have been boosting acquisitions at home as they come under pressure from foreign governments over profit-sharing at crucial mines.
Toronto-based Centerra reached an agreement with Kyrgyzstan in September to settle all outstanding disputes over the Kumtor gold mine, the company's biggest.
Earlier this year, miner Alamos Gold Inc (>> Alamos Gold Inc)
Centerra's deal will be funded through cash in hand and debt and is expected to close in January 2018, the companies said in a joint statement.
Scotia Capital was financial adviser to Centerra, while Macquarie Capital Markets Canada Ltd advised AuRico.
(Reporting by Ahmed Farhatha in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)