The institutional entitlement offer and placement that Sandfire announced last week as part of a broader financing package for the acquisition of the Matsa mining complex in Spain, had been well received, MD and CEO Karl Simich reported on Monday.
The placement would raise A$285-million and the institutional entitlement offer would raise about $641-million at an offer price of A$5.40 a share – representing a 13.2% discount to Sandfire’s last traded price of A$6.22 a share on September 23 and a 6.2% discount to the theoretical ex-rights price of A$5.76 a share on the same date.
Trading in shares of Sandfire reopened on Monday. The company’s stock traded at A$4.45 a share – down 12.40% on the previous close of A$6.22 a share.
The retail component of the entitlement offer had been fully underwritten and would raise about A$322-million. In conjunction with the placement and institutional entitlement offer, the combined proceeds of the equity raising would be A$1.25-billion.
Sandfire last week announced a financing package that includes a $650-million (A$897-million) syndicated and underwritten debt facility secured by Matsa, a A$200-million drawdown of corporate debt secured against DeGrussa and A$297-million from existing cash reserves for the acquisition of Matsa for $1.87-billion (A$2.57-million).
Matsa comprises three underground mining operations and a 4.7-million-tonne-a-year central processing facility with infrastructure producing 100 000 t/y to 120 000 t/y of copper equivalent.