Northern Star (ASX:NST) Is in Play: 3 ASX Gold Stocks That Could Be Taken Over Next

When one of the world’s most feared investors targets the biggest gold miner on the ASX, the whole market takes notice. Elliott has built a stake in Northern Star (ASX:NST) and is pushing for change: it wants the company sold or at least its board shaken up. Northern Star hasn’t fought back. It has welcomed talks with Elliott and pointed to the work it already does with adviser Goldman Sachs on corporate options, while confirming the search for a new CEO is underway, though it has stopped short of the formal strategic review Elliott wants.

Gold has cooled from its January record but remains historically high, leaving cash-rich majors hunting for value while targets trade cheaper. The message to the sector is simple: more deals are coming, and the only question now is who gets bought next.

Why Northern Star Is the One Everyone Is Watching

Northern Star is Australia’s biggest listed gold miner, so a move like this says something about the whole industry. Here’s the problem the company can’t shake: even through gold’s historic multi-year run, Northern Star kept stumbling. By Elliott’s count, it cut its production and cost guidance seven times in four years, including four separate downgrades in the first three months of 2026 alone, and underperformed its peers by more than 200% on a total-return basis over three years.

That gap between a soaring gold price and weak performance is exactly what draws activists in. The market now sees Northern Star as “in play”, and that puts every other underperforming miner on notice.

3 ASX Gold Stocks That Could Be Next

Bellevue Gold (ASX:BGL)

Bellevue is the easiest target to picture. It owns one of the highest-grade gold mines in the world, yet its shares more than halved after a run of operational problems. The company is now fixing itself just as the stock trades cheaply. For a bigger miner that needs more gold, that’s a textbook deal. The catch: Bellevue is still finding its feet financially, so a drop in the gold price would sting.

Genesis Minerals (ASX:GMD)

Genesis is the wildcard; it could be bought, or it could be the buyer. It controls a tight cluster of mines in Western Australia and is already snapping up smaller players. That scale makes it attractive to a major, but it’s just as likely to do the acquiring itself. Either way, it’s a name to watch.

Greatland Resources (ASX:GGP)

Greatland is the cashed-up hunter and a proven consolidator. Backed heavily by billionaire Andrew Forrest’s Wyloo, now its largest shareholder with more than 18%, it has consolidated 100% ownership of the Telfer mine and the high-grade Havieron project by buying out Newmont’s remaining interests. It looks more likely to be a buyer than a target, and that’s the point. A well-funded player that has just digested one of the year’s biggest gold consolidations is exactly the kind of company that turns rumours into real deals.

What It Means for Investors

A takeover offer can lift a stock 20–40% overnight, so the temptation is real. But buying purely on bid hopes is risky, deals fall through, and campaigns can drag on for months. In our view, it’s smarter to own quality miners that work with or without an offer. The real swing factor is gold itself: prices have already come off their highs, and a deeper slide would cool the deal-making fast.

Want to know which ASX gold stocks are best placed for the next round of deals? Download our free gold sector report for the full breakdown.