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PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Gold miner Saracen Mineral Holdings has completed the institutional placement and the institutional component of its pro-rata accelerated non-renounceable entitlement offer as part of its A$796-million raising to fund the acquisition of a 50% interest in the Kalgoorlie Super Pit mine, in Western Australia.
Saracen earlier this week struck an agreement with North American gold major Barrick Gold to acquire its interest in the gold project for $750-million.
The acquisition would be partly funded through the raising of A$796-million through an underwritten institutional placement and an underwritten 1-for-5.75 pro-rata accelerated non-renounceable entitlement offer, while the balance of the purchase price would be funded from a new A$450-million senior secured term loan.
Saracen on Wednesday said that it has raised some A$701-million through the institutional components.
The institutional entitlement offer was well supported, with around 74% of the entitlements up for offer being taken up, raising some A$333-million, while the institutional placement raised a further A$369-million.
“We received strong support from both existing and new institutional shareholders, which is a fantastic endorsement of a transformational acquisition that underwrites Saracen’s future as a leading all-Australian gold miner,” said MD Raleigh Finlayson.
“With the acquisition funding now secure, we look forward to closing the transaction and working collaboratively with Newmont Goldcorp to fully unlock the potential of the large, long-life, high-quality Super Pit.”
The retail entitlement offer, which is expected to raise a further A$95-million, will open on November 25, and will close on December 6.