(Bloomberg) -Barrick Gold Corp. is the undisclosed gold miner who was asked to sign a confidentiality agreement alongside activist investor John Paulson to discuss potentially buying Detour Gold Corp., according to people familiar with the matter.
While Barrick's level of interest in Detour is unclear, neither Paulson nor Barrick signed the confidentiality agreements, said the people, who asked to not be identified because the matter isn't public. Paulson has held previous discussions about Detour with Barrick, they added.
A representative for Detour declined to comment. Representatives for Barrick, Detour and Paulson declined to comment.
Paulson & Co. Inc., the billionaire investor's hedge fund, said Thursday it intends to call a special meeting of shareholders to replace most of Toronto-based Detour's board, after it rejected its request to run an auction.