Didier Drogba paid $74 million for 5% stake in Ivory Coast Gold Mine

Ivorian soccer legend and former striker for London’s Chelsea, Didier Drogba, has bought a five per cent stake in the country’s largest gold mining company, say local press reports.

According to the media reports carried on Friday, Drogba reportedly paid $74 million to acquire part of the state’s holding in the company.

This sale is part of the government’s plan to offload 10 per cent of its stake to private investors. The Ivorian government had encouraged the football star to purchase the shares.

President Alassane Ouattara congratulated the star for purchasing the stake, which is up to half of the shares set aside for local private investors.

Drogba had last March expressed interest in purchasing a stake at the state-owned mine but negotiations stalled until the recent intervention of President Ouattara.

The Société des mines d'Ity is engaged in mining gold in the village of Itay in the west of Cote d'Ivoire.

The company was set up in 1991 and has since produced about 800,000 tonnes of gold.

Presently, the country’s economic policy concerning gold seeks to step up production by 25 per cent by the end of 2014.