The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that without offering a takeover premium, Barrick Gold is merging with Randgold Resources. The Globe's Tim Kiladze writes that miraculously, Randgold agreed to the terms. To hear John Thornton tell it, the tie-up is transformational. "As far as I know ... [it has] never been done before," Barrick's executive chairman said during a conference call on Monday. "And we think this is the appropriate model for this industry." Mr. Thornton's bravado raises a question: If this type of transaction makes so much sense, why is it not more common? So far, Mr. Thornton has avoided the worst mistakes of founder Peter Munk, who acquired Equinox Minerals for $7.3-billion in 2011, committing not one, but two, cardinal M&A sins: He bought at the peak of a bubble, and he paid cash. The gold sector has seen a sprinkling of Barrick-Randgold-type transactions before. In 2015, Alamos and AuRico merged in the same way under the Alamos name with no premium whatsoever; it was not a home run. Mr. Kiladze says that while there are some differences in the Barrick deal, notably that it will create a gold giant, success is still likely to stem from the way the merged company is run.