The deal, announced Monday, values Goldcorp (TSX:G) at US$10 billion, or around $11 per share, with Newmont handing over 0.3280 of its shares per Goldcorp share.

The Americas-focused producer is worth around a quarter of its peak value in 2011 and is trading at a 17-year low of $9.69 per share. 

Provided shareholders back the deal, the new company will be called Newmont Goldcorp and be led by Newmont CEO Gary Goldberg and chairman Noreen Doyle. 

Goldberg's designated successor Tom Palmer will be president and COO before taking on the CEO job at the end of the year.

Newmont said it could get $100 million of savings from synergies between the two companies once the deal has closed. 

Newmont produced 5.3 million ounces of gold in 2017 and Goldcorp produced 2.6Moz, but the plan is to sell off up to $1.5 billion in assets by 2021, with 6-7Moz per annum company the goal.

The mid-tier miners and firms like Orion Resource Partners will be looking eagerly at the new crop of projects that will come onto the market, along with the Barrick and Randgold projects now up for grabs.

Newmont CEO Gary Goldberg said the merger would "create the world's leading gold business with the best assets, people, prospects and value-creation opportunities".

Shareholders of both companies will vote on the deal in upcoming months and regulators from the European Union, Canada, South Korea and Mexico need to give their approval, Newmont said.

Investors in the new company should expect an annual dividend of 56c per share, Newmont said. 

Newmont's share price (NYSE:NEM) was down 5% to $33.15 in pre-market trading.