Photo by: Bloomberg
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Battery minerals explorer Zenith Minerals has advanced plans to demerge its gold and base metals assets into a separately listed ASX-listed company called Mackerel Metals, with a prospectus for Mackerel lodged this week.
Zenith earlier this year flagged the possibility of spinning-out its non-lithium assets to allow the company to focus on the company’s battery minerals projects.
Following completion of the initial public offering (IPO), Mackerel’s portfolio of gold and base metal assets will comprise ten projects within eight active project areas located in Western Australia, Queensland and New South Wales.
Mackerel is hoping to raise a minimum of A$6-million in its IPO, via the issue of 20-million new shares at an issue price of 30c a share, with the right to accept oversubscriptions of up to A$4-million, to fund further exploration and development of its gold and base metal assets.
As part of the raising Zenith has agreed to make an equity investment of A$1.9-million in Mackerel in return for 6.3-million shares.
Zenith will be issued 166.67-million Mackerel shares pursuant to the demerger transaction agreements, and the company has agreed to distribute all these shares to its eligible shareholders by way of an in-specie distribution, following receipt of shareholder approval for the proposed capital return and in-specie distribution.
The in-specie distribution will be on the basis of approximately 0.48 Mackerel shares for every Zenith share held as at the relevant record date.
Meanwhile, eligible Zenith shareholders will also to be entitled to participate in a priority offer of a minimum of 5-million new shares, for A$1.5-million, which will form part of the offer.
Subject to completion of the offer and shareholder approval, the anticipated ASX listing date is currently December 16.