Pembridge Resources PLC (LSE:PERE) said about C$30.5mln (GBP17.5mln) of capital has been committed to Minto Explorations Ltd ahead of its listing on the TSX Venture Exchange via a reverse takeover.
The capital raising was priced at C$2.60 per share, implying a valuation before listing of C$156.6mln, or C$187.1mln after listing.
Pembridge invested C$3.8mln of this new capital to maintain its shareholding in Minto at 11.1%.
Of the capital raised, C$15.2mln has been received in escrow accounts, where it will remain until listing approval is received. The remaining C$15.3mln has been committed, with about C$0.55mln anticipated to be closed in the next week and the remaining C$14.75mln being closed on completion of the reverse takeover.
Minto, which operates an underground copper-gold-silver mine in Canada, is now expected to list in the fourth quarter of 2021 under the name Minto Metals Corp.
“This capital raise by Minto Metals, resulting in investment by new and existing shareholders at a pre-money valuation of C$156.6mln, confirms the true value of our investment in Minto,” said Pembridge chief executive and chairman Gati Al-Jebouri.
“This additional capital will enable Minto Metals to further increase production, to benefit from the resulting economies of scale as well as the current strong price of copper and to extend its life of mine with further exploration.
“With the expected cash inflows from Minto Metals and higher valuation of our company, I believe that we will be ready to execute on the fourth stage of Pembridge development, which I outlined in 2019 when I took over the leadership of the company. This stage is the identification of new projects to invest in and grow our business,” he said.
Pembridge noted that Minto has drawn down US$8.0mln (GBP5.9mln) of an existing US$12.5mln facility from Sumitomo and that Sumitomo has requested that existing shareholders guarantee the remaining US$4.5mln before this can be drawn down.
