PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Uranium developer Toro Energy has inked a transaction with major shareholder The Sentient Group which would halve its current A$12-million debt, and convert the remaining debt into a secured interest free loan owed to Sentient.
Toro would repay the full A$12-million owed to Macquarie Bank with funds sourced from a A$6-milion loan from Sentient, which would mature in three years, as well as a A$2.5-million placement to Sentient consisting of 31.2-million shares, at a price of 8c each, announced in November last year.
The company would also make use of A$3-million released from a A$10-million unitisation fund received from Sentient in the 2014 transaction, along with A$500 000 of existing working capital.
On completion of the refinancing, Sentient would hold an 18.3% interest in Toro, up from its current 14.4% shareholding.
Toro MD Vanessa Guthrie said on Thursday that the new financial structure would strengthen the company’s position as it entered the new 2015/16 financial year, and would enable Toro to fund further project optimisation studies, as well as the definitive feasibility study for its Wiluna uranium project, in Western Australia.
Toro shares were trading at a high of 7.5c on Thursday, up from an opening price of 7.3c.