DURBAN - EASTERN Platinum (Eastplats) wants to raise additional capital via a rights issue to pursue growth opportunities.
It said, on Friday, it planned an offering to its shareholders to acquire common shares of the company at the close of business next Friday (on December 18).
Eastplats, a platinum group metals (PGM) and chrome operating company, is listed on the the JSE and Toronto Stock Exchange. It said the rights would be listed and posted for trading on both bourses on Tuesday (December 15).
The group’s offering is on the basis of one right for each common share held.
Each right will entitle the holder to subscribe for one common share of the company upon payment of the subscription price of $0.32, or R3.77, based on the applicable exchange rate as defined in the rights offering circular.
“Shareholders who fully exercise their rights under the basic subscription privilege will also be entitled to subscribe for additional common shares, on a pro rata basis,” the group said.
“The rights offering will close at 12 pm in South Africa... after which time un-exercised rights will be void and of no value,” the group said.
Eastplats currently has 100.64 million common shares issued and the group said if all rights issued under the rights offering were exercised. An additional 100.64 million common shares would be issued.
“The company is pleased to provide all the existing shareholders of Eastplats an opportunity to directly fund the capital investment required to take advantage of the proposed opportunities,” the group said.
Eastplats intends to use the net proceeds of the rights offering, subject to the results of the amount raised, on capital projects which will be focused on PGM opportunities expected to be completed during 2021, if sufficient funds are raised, on secondary projects, which are expected to begin in 2021, but which are not expected to be completed until 2022.
However, the group’s forecast, is that, it has sufficient working capital to continue with its current operations in 2021, subject to the Retreatment Project option and loan assessment occurring in 2022.
Eastplats intends to use the proceeds to commence or complete some of its 12 projects, which include upgrades and repairs to the Zandfontein underground shaft, the rock winder to ensure they are available for PGM operations, Zandfontein underground start-up investment and Crocodile River Mine underground assessment including all chrome recovery activities in relation to the Retreatment Project.
The share price closed unchaged at R5.15 on Friday.