Altus Strategies PLC (AIM:ALS, TSX-V:ALTS, OTCQX:ALTUF) has raised £19.8mln (US$26.1mln) through a share placing and subscription at 53.5p (C$0.90) a share.
Cornerstone investor La Mancha invested £6.9mln to maintain its 35.08% stake in the dual-listed mining royalties company while various Altus directors and officers participated in the subscription to the tune of around £500,000.
The funds raised will be used to acquire up to 24 royalties from Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX:NCM).
Acquisition of a portfolio of royalties
The acquisition of the royalties was announced yesterday after the London stock market had closed.
Altus is paying US$24mln to acquire a portfolio of royalties on two producing gold mines, one near-production gold mine as well as up to 21 near-term development and exploration-stage projects.
Twenty-three of the royalty projects are located in Australia and one royalty project is in Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa. The Australian royalties are being acquired through a strategic joint venture with AlphaStream Limited in which Altus will have an 80.1% stake, while the royalty in Côte d'Ivoire will be acquired through a 50/50 joint venture with AlphaStream.
The acquisition will deliver immediate cash flow, estimated at a potential US$3.5mln (post-tax) to Altus based on a forecast 10-year average.
"This proposed acquisition of a material portfolio of mining royalties and royalty interests from Newcrest heralds the transformation of Altus into a major royalty company backed by La Mancha. The Newcrest portfolio provides Altus with immediate cash flow, portfolio diversification and is heavily weighted towards gold in Australia, a 'top tier' jurisdiction. The deal secures royalties and royalty interests over two producing mines, one near-production mine and up to 15 development stage projects and up to six exploration stage assets. A further highlight is that the operators of many of the projects are globally recognised and respected groups,” said Steve Poulton, the chief executive officer of Altus.
Poulton said he was delighted at the response to the fundraising, which saw new investors added to the share register.
Shares in Altus fell 5p to 58p following the share issue.