THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, JAPAN, SOUTH AFRICA OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH IT WOULD BE UNLAWFUL TO DO SO. PLEASE SEE THE IMPORTANT NOTICE WITHIN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.
FURTHER, THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER OF SECURITIES IN ANY JURISDICTION. PLEASE SEE THE IMPORTANT NOTICES AT THE END OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.
For immediate release
1 March 2021
Serabi Gold plc
("Serabi" or the "Company")
Proposed Fundraising
Serabi Gold plc (AIM:SRB, TSX:SBI), the Brazil focussed gold producer and developer, is pleased to announce its intention to raise gross proceeds of approximately US$17.5 million (£12.5 million / C$22.0 million) by way of a placing of new Ordinary Shares in the capital of the Company (the "Placing Shares") to both existing and new institutional investors (the "Placing").
Concurrently with the Placing, Serabi will also conduct a placing of Warrants to subscribe for new Ordinary Shares in the capital of the Company (“Warrant Placing” and together with the Placing the “Placings”). The Warrant Placing is conditional, amongst other things, upon Shareholder approval and completion of the Placing. Only subscribers for Placing Shares will be eligible to participate in the Warrant Placing and may purchase one half of a warrant for each Placing Share subscribed for.
In relation to the Placings, Peel Hunt LLP ("Peel Hunt") and Tamesis Partners LLP ("Tamesis") are acting as joint bookrunners (together the "Joint Bookrunners") and Beacon Securities Limited ("Beacon") is acting as Manager. The books for the Placings will open with immediate effect. In addition to the Placings, there will be an offer for subscription for new Ordinary Shares (the "PrimaryBid Offer Shares") for retail investors (the "PrimaryBid Offer" and together with the Placings, the "Fundraising") provided that the total number of Ordinary Shares to be issued in the Fundraising shall not exceed 20 million. A separate announcement will be made shortly regarding the PrimaryBid Offer and its terms. Neither of the Placings are conditional on the PrimaryBid Offer.
Highlights:
The Placings are being conducted by way of an accelerated bookbuild (the "Bookbuild") and will both be launched immediately following the release of this Announcement. The timing of the closing of the Bookbuilds and the allocations are at the absolute discretion of the Joint Bookrunners, the Manager and the Company provided that only subscribers for Placing Shares will be eligible to participate in the Warrant Placing and such subscribers may only purchase one half of a warrant for each Placing Share subscribed for.
The results of the Placings will be announced as soon as practicable after the close of the respective Bookbuilds.
Both of the Placings are subject to the terms and conditions set out in the Appendix to this announcement (which forms part of this announcement, such announcement and the Appendix together being this "Announcement").
The Warrant Placing is conditional, inter alia, on completion of the Placing and shareholder approval of the relevant authorities to issue the Warrants and the new Ordinary Shares to be issued upon exercise of the Warrants at the annual general meeting of the Company to be held by the end of May 2021. The subscription price for the Warrants is £0.06 (C$0.11) per warrant (“Warrant Subscription Price”) and the exercise price for the Warrants will be £0.9375 (C$1.65) per new Ordinary Share, representing a premium of 25% to the Placing Price, subject to adjustment for certain corporate events (“Exercise Price”). The Warrants will be exercisable for two years from their date of issue. The Warrants will not be transferable and will not be listed on AIM, the Toronto Stock Exchange or any other exchange or market. Further details of the Warrants will be set out in the circular containing the notice of annual general meeting which is expected to be published by the end of April 2021.
Greenstone and Fratelli Investments Limited have undertaken to vote the Ordinary Shares that they hold at the time of the annual general meeting in favour of the resolutions to authorise the issue of the Warrants and the new Ordinary Shares to be issued upon exercise of the Warrants.
Application will be made to the London Stock Exchange for the Placing Shares and the PrimaryBid Offer Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM ("Admission") and listed for trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange on or around 9 March 2021.
The completion of the Placing is conditional upon Admission becoming effective and the Redemption Agreement not being terminated prior to Admission. The Placing is not conditional upon the PrimaryBid Offer or the Warrant Placing. The Warrant Placing is conditional amongst other things on completion of the Placing and upn Shareholder approval.
Trading update
Gold production from the Company's operations since the beginning of the year has been in line with management's expectations and consistent with the upper end of the Company's guidance for production of 33,000 to 36,000 ounces for 2021.
As advised in the Company's news release of 15 January 2021, during the third quarter of 2020, the Company produced 7,224 ounces of gold but because of the timing of delivery and therefore recognition of gold sales for accounting purposes, sales of 8,260 ounces were accounted for in the same period. During the fourth quarter of 2021, whilst gold production of 7,254 ounces was very similar, gold sales recognised for accounting purposes in the period were 6,511 ounces. As a result, income recognised in the fourth quarter is lower than that of the third quarter with a consequent impact on EBITDA and net profit before tax. This has also impacted on the levels of cash generated in the period.
As also reported in the Company's news release of 15 January 2021, the final gold sale of 2020 was recorded on 29 December 2020 when a shipment of copper/gold in concentrate left Brazil. The initial proceeds from this sale of US$1.5 million were received in the first days of January 2021. In the preceding quarters of 2020, both the recognition of revenue and the receipt of the initial payments have occurred within the same quarter for all gold sales. Including this delayed receipt, the cash position at the end of December on a like for like basis was US$8.1 million.
During the second and third quarters of 2020, the Company took actions that allowed mining operations to continue whilst at the same time seeking to minimise the health risk to its personnel presented by COVID-19. As part of its actions the numbers of personnel at site were significantly reduced and all work undertaken by third party contractors, including surface and underground drilling crews, was suspended. During the fourth quarter, staffing levels at site progressively returned to normal levels and contractors to undertake surface and underground drilling returned to site. During Q4, costs increased therefore, compared the Q2 and Q3, reflecting the restart of underground drilling. In addition, the maintenance department was very active catching up on the servicing and repair of machinery and other equipment that had been operating with limited maintenance capacity during the preceding two quarters.
At the end of 2019, the Company was owed approximately BrR$14 million (approximately US$2.6 million) in sales related taxes incurred on purchases of fixed assets, consumable goods and services by the State of Para. This debt has been reviewed and confirmed as being due to the Company and the Company has received legal advice confirming that it is entitled to recover this amount. The Company as an exporter does not charge sales tax on its revenues and therefore is unable to recover this debt by way of set-off and is currently reliant upon a cash settlement from the revenue authorities for the State of Para to recover this debt. In light of the financial position of the State of Para, it has been unwilling to make any cash settlement to date. From time to time it has been possible to sell, with the permission of the revenue authorities of the State of Para, these debts to third parties. The Company held at the end of 2019 a provision of 20% of the amount owed (BrR$2.8 million) representing its estimate of the market discount applicable to such a transaction. During 2020, the Company has been unable to progress a potential transaction with a third party and as of 31 December 2020 the value of the debt owed had increased to BrR$17.7 million (US$3.3 million). While the Company continues to seek a means of recovering this debt, it might be required to further provide against it. This would impact the Q4 2020 results. In its working capital forecasts, the Company has not anticipated the receipt of any settlement or payment in respect of this debt.
Updated Mineral Reserve and Resources
The following information relates to updated Mineral Reserve and Resources in respect of the Palito and Sao Chico deposits, which have been estimated by the Company and are effective as of 31 August 2020. The Mineral Reserve and Resources for Coringa have not been updated.
Qualified Persons and Quality Control
The scientific and technical information contained in this news release pertaining to the Palito and Sao Chcio gold deposits has been reviewed and approved by Michael Hodgson BSc, MSc FIMMM, who is a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") and who has acted as the qualified person under the AIM Rules (“Qualified Person”):
The Qualified Person has verified the information disclosed herein, including the sampling, preparation, security and analytical procedures underlying the information or opinions contained in this announcement in accordance with standards appropriate to their qualifications.
Mineral Reserves and Resources
The Company estimates and discloses mineral reserves and resources using the definitions adopted by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum, and in accordance with NI 43-101. Further details are available at www.cim.org. See the “Glossary of Geological and Mining Terms” for complete definitions of mineral reserves and mineral resources.
About Mineral Resources
Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability, but do have reasonable prospect for economic extraction. They fall into three categories: measured, indicated, and inferred. The reported mineral resources are stated inclusive of mineral reserves. Measured and indicated mineral resources are sufficiently well-defined to allow geological and grade continuity to be reasonably assumed, and permit the application of technical and economic parameters in assessing the economic viability of the mineral resource. Inferred mineral resources are estimated on limited information not sufficient to verify geological and grade continuity or to allow technical and economic parameters to be applied. Inferred mineral resources are too speculative geologically to have economic considerations applied to them. There is no certainty that mineral resources of any category will be upgraded to mineral reserves.
Important Information about Mineral Reserve and Resource Estimates
Whilst the Company takes all reasonable care in the preparation and verification of the mineral reserve and resource figures. the figures are estimates based in part on forward-looking information.
Estimates are based on management’s knowledge, mining experience, analysis of drilling results, the quality of available data and management’s best judgment. They are, however, imprecise by nature, may change over time, and include many variables and assumptions including geological interpretation, commodity prices and currency exchange rates, recovery rates, and operating and capital costs.
There is no assurance that the indicated levels of metal will be produced, and the Company may have to re-estimate the mineral reserves based on actual production experience. Changes in the metal price, production costs or recovery rates could make it unprofitable to operate or develop a particular deposit for a period of time.
Table 1 Condensed Mineral Resource Statement, Palito Mine, Para State, Brazil, Serabi Gold plc, August 31, 20 20
Classification | Quantity (000’s t) |
Grade Au (g/t) |
Contained Metal Au (000’s oz) |
Measured | 50 | 8.99 | 15 |
Indicated | 1,000 | 4.88 | 157 |
Measured and Indicated | 1,050 | 5.08 | 171 |
Inferred | 943 | 3.66 | 111 |
Table 2 Condensed Mineral Resource Statement, São Chico Mine, Para State, Brazil, Serabi Gold plc, August 31, 2020
Classification | Quantity (000’s t) |
Grade Au (g/t) |
Contained Metal Au (000’s oz) |
Measured | 17 | 7.73 | 4 |
Indicated | 500 | 5.63 | 90 |
Measured and Indicated | 517 | 5.69 | 94 |
Inferred | 719 | 4.62 | 107 |
·Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and have not demonstrated economic viability.
·Mineral Resources are reported inclusive of Mineral Reserves.
·Figures are rounded to reflect the relative accuracy of the estimates.
·Mineral Resources are reported within classification domains inclusive of in situ dilution at a cut-off grade of 2.85 g/t gold assuming an underground extraction scenario, a gold price of US$1,500/oz, a 5.0:1 Brazilian Real to U.S. Dollar exchange rate and metallurgical recovery of 95%.
·Polygonal techniques were used for Resources estimates.
·Serabi is the operator and owns 100% of the Palito Mine such that gross and net attributable mineral resources are the same. The mineral resource estimate was prepared by the Company in accordance with the standard of CIM and NI 43-101, with an effective date of 31 August 2020, and audited and approved by Mr. Michael Hodgson, CEO of Serabi Gold plc, who is a Qualified Person under NI 43-101.
Table 3 Mineral Reserves Statement, Palito Mine, Para State, Brazil, Serabi Gold plc, August 31, 20 20
Classification | Quantity (000’s t) |
Grade Au (g/t) |
Contained Metal Au (000’s oz) |
Proven | 57 | 7.82 | 15 |
Probable | 172 | 7.33 | 41 |
Total Reserves | 230 | 7.45 | 55 |
·Mineral Reserves have been rounded to reflect the relative accuracy of the estimates. Proven underground Mineral Reserves are reported within the Measured classification domain, and Probable underground Mineral Reserves are reported within the Indicated classification domain. Proven and Probable underground Mineral Reserves are inclusive of external mining dilution and mining loss and are reported at a cut-off grade of 3.70 g/t gold assuming an underground extraction scenario, a gold price of US$1,500/oz, a 5.0:1 Brazilian Real to U.S. Dollar exchange rate, and metallurgical recovery of 91%.
·Serabi is the operator and owns 100% of the Palito Mine such that gross and net attributable mineral reserves are the same. The mineral reserve estimate was prepared by the Company in accordance with the standard of CIM and NI 43-101, with an effective date of 31 August 2020, and audited and approved by Mr. Michael Hodgson, CEO of Serabi Gold plc, who is a Qualified Person under NI 43-101.
Table 4 Mineral Reserves Statement, São Chico Mine, Para State, Brazil, Serabi Gold plc, August 31. 2020
Classification | Quantity (000’s t) |
Grade Au (g/t) |
Contained Metal Au (000’s oz) |
Proven | 21 | 5.94 | 4 |
Probable | 49 | 8.84 | 13 |
Total Reserves | 70 | 7.60 | 17 |
The announcement should be read in its entirety. In particular, you should read and understand the information provided in the "Important Notice" section and the detailed terms and conditions described in the Appendix.
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure
Prior to its publication, certain information contained within this announcement was deemed to constitute inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014 ("MAR") as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European (Withdrawal) Act 2018. In addition, market soundings (as defined in MAR) were taken in respect of the Placing with the result that certain persons became aware of inside information (as defined in MAR), as permitted by MAR. This inside information is set out in this Announcement and such information is now considered to be in the public domain. Accordingly, those persons that received inside information in a market sounding are no longer in possession of such inside information relating to the Company and its securities.
The person who arranged for the release of this announcement on behalf of the Company was Clive Line, Director.
Enquiries:
Serabi Gold plc | |
Michael Hodgson (Chief Executive) | Tel: +44 (0)20 7246 6830 |
Clive Line (Finance Director) | Tel: +44 (0)20 7246 6830 |
Peel Hunt LLP | |
Joint Bookrunner & Corporate Broker | |
Investment Banking | |
Ross Allister / Alexander Allen | Tel: +44 (0)20 7418 8900 |
ECM / Syndicate | |
Jock Maxwell Macdonald / Sohail Akbar | |
Tamesis Partners LLP | |
Joint Bookrunner | |
Richard Greenfield / Charlie Bendon | Tel: +44 (0)203 882 0712 |
Beacon Securities Limited | |
Manager | |
Investment Banking | |
Daniel Belchers | Tel: +1 416 507 3954 |
ECM / Syndicate | |
Kim MacIntyre | |
Beaumont Cornish Limited | |
Nominated Adviser | |
Roland Cornish / Michael Cornish | Tel: +44 (0)20 7628 3396 |
Details of the Placings
The Placings are each being conducted through an accelerated bookbuilding process to be undertaken by Peel Hunt and Tamesis acting as Joint Bookrunners and Beacon acting as Manager. The books for the Placings will open with immediate effect. The Placings are subject to the terms and conditions set out in Appendix 1 (which forms part of this Announcement). The timing of the closing of the Bookbuilds and allocations are at the discretion of the Joint Bookrunners and the Company, provided that only subscribers for Placing Shares will be eligible to participate in the Warrant Placing and such subscribers may only purchase one half a warrant for each Placing Share subscribed for (rounded down to the nearest whole warrant). The Warrant Subscription Price for the Warrants is £0.06 (C$0.11) per Warrant and the Exercise Price for the Warrants will be £0.9375 (C$1.65) per new ordinary share, subject to adjustment for certain corporate events. The Warrants will be exercisable for two years from their date of issue. A further announcement will be made as soon as practicable after the close of the Bookbuilds.
Neither of the Placings is being underwritten and they are each subject to the conditions and termination rights set out in the placing agreement between the Company, the Joint Bookrunners and the Manager (the "Placing Agreement"). Further details of the Placing Agreement can be found in the terms and conditions of the Placing contained in Appendix 1 of this Announcement.
The completion of the Placing is conditional upon inter alia, Admission becoming effective and the Redemption Agreement not being terminated prior to Admission. The Placing is not conditional upon the PrimaryBid Offer. The completion of the Warrant Placing and subscription for the Warrants is conditional upon inter alia, the Placing becoming effective and shareholder approval and payment of the Warrant Subscription Price. Neither the Placing nor the Warrant Placing is conditional upon the PrimaryBid Offer.
The Placing Shares and the PrimaryBid Offer Shares will rank pari passu with the existing issued Ordinary Shares.
Application will be made to the London Stock Exchange for the Placing Shares and the PrimaryBid Offer Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM. Recognising the obligations and requirements resulting from the listing of the shares of the Company in Canada, it is expected that Admission will take place at 8:00 a.m. on or around 9 March 2021 and in any event no later than 31 March 2021. Concurrently the Placing Shares and the PrimaryBid Offer Shares will be listed for trading on the TSX.
At the Company's AGM, the Shareholders approved a resolution providing the directors with the authority to allot up to 20 million shares in the Company. A further resolution was proposed and approved, with 85.5% of votes cast in favour, with the intention to disapply statutory pre-emption rights in respect of the allotment of up to 20 million shares for cash. Whilst this second resolution was passed, due to an administrative error, it is not effective for its purpose. Following consultation with its major Shareholders and its advisers, the Company has chosen a cashbox structure to implement the Placing to reflect the intention of the Company’s Shareholders to approve the disapplication of statutory pre-emption rights at the AGM. Notwithstanding this, the Company intends to respect the principles of pre-emption as far as practicable by extending the offer to participate to a significant majority of Shareholders and, as far as practicable, allocating to existing Shareholders at least up to what would be their pre-emptive entitlement. This will also apply to existing retail Shareholders, who will be entitled to participate through the PrimaryBid platform.
In the event that Shareholder approval for the issue of the Warrants and any new Ordinary Shares upon exercise of the Warrants is not received at the annual general meeting, the Warrants will not be issued and the Company will receive no proceeds from the Warrant Placing.
Appendix 1 sets out further information relating to the Bookbuilds and the terms and conditions of the Placings.
Expected timetable and principal events
Announcement of the Fundraising | 1 March 2021 |
Announcement of the results of the Placing, Warrant Placing and the PrimaryBid Offer | 2 March 2021 |
Admission and dealings in the New Ordinary Shares expected to commence | 9 March 2021 |
CREST stock accounts expected to be credited for New Ordinary Shares | 9 March 2021 |
Annual General Meeting | No later than end of May 2021 |
Issue of the Warrants | 2 Business days after the announcement of the passing of the resolutions at the Annual General Meeting |
The above times and/or dates may be subject to change and, in the event of such change, the revised times and/or dates will be notified to Shareholders by an announcement through a Regulatory Information Service. All references to times in this document are to London times.
Background to and reasons for the Placings
Following receipt of the Licencia Previa for the Coringa Project as announced on 28th September 2020, the Company wishes to pursue a placing to raise funds that will allow the Company to commence underground development of the mine ahead of receipt of an installation licence ("LI") which is expected before the end of 2021. Once in full production, the Coringa Project is expected to add approximately 38,000 oz per annum of production, moving the Company towards its targeted production of 100,000 oz of gold per annum.
The Preliminary Economic Assessment prepared by Global Resource Engineering, the Company's independent engineering consultant and published in September 2019, estimated an initial capital requirement of US$24.7 million prior to sustained positive cash-flow being reached. The Company expects to use some of the proceeds of the Placing to fund initial mine development including establishing the mine portal. Construction of the process plant will be commenced following the issue of the LI which the Company expects to receive before the end of 2021. The Company anticipates that it will be able to finance the balance of the capital requirements for the full development of Coringa using a combination of debt and the cash flow being generated from its existing operations.
Assuming the LI is granted within the expected time frame and debt terms agreed, the Company expects that first gold production from the Coringa Project can be realised during 2023.
Use of proceeds
The directors intend to use the proceeds from the Placing (exclusive of costs and commissions which will be met from existing resources) as follows:
Use of the Placing proceeds | |
Repayment of remaining Equinox debt (including interest) | US$6.6m |
Regional exploration programme | US$5.0m |
Initial Coringa Project development capex | US$3.4m |
Redemption of the outstanding Convertible Loan Notes together with Interest and Fees | US$2.5m |
Gross proceeds | US$17.5m |
The Company is intending to repay the remaining portion of the deferred consideration owed to Equinox for the purchase of the Coringa Project. With the redemption of the Convertible Loan Notes, this will eliminate the debt obligations of the Company and release all security interests held by Equinox and Greenstone, allowing the Company to secure debt terms for the remaining capital required to develop the Coringa Project. In the near term, the proceeds of the Placing will allow the Company to undertake some initial underground mine development at the Coringa Project which management anticipate will provide enhanced understanding of the geometry of the mineralisation at the Coringa Project which should further de-risk the project for lenders.
The Company is also seeking to fund further regional exploration focussed on its existing exploration and mining tenements in the Tapajos region of Para, Brazil. The Company's exploration programmes during the next 12 months cover:
Any funds raised in the Warrant Placing and the PrimaryBid Offer will also be used for these purposes and general working capital.
Qualified Persons Statement
The scientific and technical information (including the updated mineral reserve and resources) contained within this Announcement has been reviewed and approved by Michael Hodgson, a Director of the Company. Mr Hodgson is an Economic Geologist by training with over 30 years' experience in the mining industry. He holds a BSc (Hons) Geology, University of London, a MSc Mining Geology, University of Leicester and is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining and a Chartered Engineer of the Engineering Council of UK, recognizing him as both a Qualified Person for the purposes of Canadian National Instrument 43-101 and by the AIM Guidance Note on Mining and Oil & Gas Companies dated June 2009.
IMPORTANT NOTICES
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT (INCLUDING THE APPENDIX) AND THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS SET OUT HEREIN (TOGETHER, THIS "ANNOUNCEMENT") IS FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE OR FORM ANY PART OF AN OFFER TO SELL OR ISSUE, OR A SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO BUY, SUBSCRIBE FOR OR OTHERWISE ACQUIRE ANY SECURITIES IN THE UNITED STATES (INCLUDING ITS TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS, ANY STATE OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA (COLLECTIVELY, THE "UNITED STATES")), AUSTRALIA, THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA, JAPAN OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH OFFER OR SOLICITATION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL OR TO ANY PERSON TO WHOM IT IS UNLAWFUL TO MAKE SUCH OFFER OR SOLICITATION. NO PUBLIC OFFERING OF THE PLACING SHARES IS BEING MADE IN ANY SUCH JURISDICTION. ANY FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THESE RESTRICTIONS MAY CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE SECURITIES LAWS OF SUCH JURISDICTIONS.
Neither this Announcement, nor any copy of it, nor the information contained in it, is for publication, release, transmission distribution or forwarding, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States, Australia, Japan or the Republic of South Africa or any other jurisdiction in which publication, release or distribution would be unlawful (or to any persons in any of those jurisdictions).
Neither the Placing Shares nor the Warrants have been, and will not be, registered under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "US Securities Act") or with any securities regulatory authority or under any securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States and may not be offered, sold, resold, pledged, taken up, exercised, transferred or delivered, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States except pursuant to an applicable exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the US Securities Act and in compliance with the securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States. No public offering of securities is being made in the United States.
Neither the Placing Shares nor the Warrants have been approved, disapproved or recommended by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, any state securities commission in the United States or any other U.S. regulatory authority, nor have any of the foregoing authorities passed upon or endorsed the merits of the offering of the Placing Shares or the Warrants.
Subject to certain exceptions, the securities referred to herein may not be offered or sold in the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan or the Republic of South Africa or to, or for the account or benefit of, any national, resident or citizen of the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan or the Republic of South Africa.
This Announcement is directed at and is only being distributed to: (a) persons in member states of the European Economic Area who are "qualified investors", as defined in Article 2(e) of the Prospectus Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2017/1129) (the "Prospectus Regulation") ("Qualified Investors"), (b) persons in the United Kingdom, who are qualified investors, being persons falling within the meaning of Article 2(e) of Prospectus Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (the "UK Prospectus Regulation"), and who (i) have professional experience in matters relating to investments who fall within the definition of "investment professionals" in Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the "Order") or are high net worth companies, unincorporated associations or partnerships or trustees of high value trusts as described in Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order and (ii) are Qualified Investors, or (c) otherwise, persons to whom it may otherwise lawfully be communicated (each such person in (a), (b) and (c), a "Relevant Person"). No other person should act on or rely on this Announcement and persons distributing this Announcement must satisfy themselves that it is lawful to do so. By accepting the terms of this Announcement, you represent and agree that you are a Relevant Person. This Announcement must not be acted on or relied on by persons who are not Relevant Persons. Any investment or investment activity to which this Announcement or the Placing relates is available only to Relevant Persons and will be engaged in only with Relevant Persons.
This Announcement is not being distributed by, nor has it been approved for the purposes of section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, as amended ("FSMA") by, a person authorised under FSMA. This Announcement is being distributed and communicated to persons in the United Kingdom only in circumstances in which section 21(1) of FSMA does not apply.
No offering document or prospectus will be made available in any jurisdiction in connection with the matters contained or referred to in this Announcement or the Placing or the Warrant Placing and no such prospectus is required (in accordance with the Prospectus Regulation or the UK Prospectus Regulation) to be published. Members of the public are not eligible to take part in the Placing or the Warrant Placing and no public offering of Placing Shares or Warrants is being or will be made in the United States, United Kingdom or elsewhere.
All offers of the Placing Shares and Warrants will be made pursuant to an exemption under the Prospectus Regulation and the UK Prospectus Regulation from the requirement to produce a prospectus.
This Announcement has been issued by, and is the sole responsibility of, the Company. No responsibility or liability is or will be accepted by, and no undertaking, representation or warranty or other assurance, express or implied, is or will be made or given by the Joint Bookrunners or Manager or by any of its partners, directors, officers, employees, advisers, consultants or affiliates as to, or in relation to, the accuracy, fairness or completeness of the information or opinions contained in this Announcement or any other written or oral information made available to or publicly available to any interested person or its advisers, and any liability therefore is expressly disclaimed. The information in this Announcement is subject to change.
Peel Hunt and Tamesis, who are authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the FCA, and Beacon, who are regulated in Canada by the Investment Industry Regulatory Organisation of Canada, are acting exclusively for the Company and no-one else in connection with the Placing and the Warrant Placing and the transactions and arrangements described in this Announcement and will not regard any other person (whether or not a recipient of this Announcement) as a client in relation to the Placing, the Warrant Placing or any other matter referred to in this Announcement.
Neither Peel Hunt, Tamesis or Beacon are responsible to anyone other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to clients of Peel Hunt, Tamesis or Beacon or for providing advice in connection with the contents of this Announcement, the Placing, the Warrant Placing or the transactions, arrangements and matters referred to herein.
None of the information in this Announcement has been independently verified or approved by the Joint Bookrunners or the Manager or any of their partners, directors, officers, employees, advisers, consultants or affiliates. Save for any responsibilities or liabilities, if any, imposed on the Joint Bookrunners or the Manager by FSMA or by the regulatory regime established under it, no responsibility or liability whatsoever whether arising in tort, contract or otherwise, is accepted by the Joint Bookrunners or the Manager or any of their respective partners, directors, officers, employees, advisers, consultants or affiliates whatsoever for the contents of the information contained in this Announcement (including, but not limited to, any errors, omissions or inaccuracies in the information or any opinions) or for any other statement made or purported to be made by or on behalf of the Joint Bookrunners or the Manager or any of their respective partners, directors, officers, employees, advisers, consultants or affiliates in connection with the Company, the Placing Shares, the Warrants or the Placing or the Warrant Placing or for any loss, cost or damage suffered or incurred howsoever arising, directly or indirectly, from any use of this Announcement or its contents or otherwise in connection with this Announcement or from any acts or omissions of the Company in relation to the Placing and/or the Warrant Placing. The Joint Bookrunners, the Manager and their partners, directors, officers, employees, advisers, consultants and affiliates accordingly disclaim all and any responsibility and liability whatsoever, whether arising in tort, contract or otherwise (save as referred to above) in respect of any statements or other information contained in this Announcement and no representation or warranty, express or implied, is made by the Joint Bookrunner or the Manager or any of its partners, directors, officers, employees, advisers, consultants or affiliates as to the accuracy, completeness or sufficiency of the information contained in this Announcement.
Beaumont Cornish is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the FCA. Beaumont Cornish’s responsibilities as the Company’s nominated adviser under the AIM Rules for Nominated Advisers are owed solely to the London Stock Exchange and are not owed to the Company or to any Director or to any other person.
The distribution of this Announcement and the offering of the Placing Shares and/or the Warrants in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. No action has been taken by the Company, the Joint Bookrunners or the Manager or any of its affiliates that would permit an offering of the Placing Shares or the Warrants or possession or distribution of this Announcement or any other offering or publicity material relating to the Placing Shares and/or the Warrants in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required. Persons into whose possession this Announcement comes are required by the Company and the Joint Bookrunners and the Manager to inform themselves about, and to observe, such restrictions.
Persons distributing this Announcement must satisfy themselves that it is lawful to do so. Persons (including without limitation, nominees and trustees) who have a contractual right or other legal obligations to forward a copy of this Announcement (or any part thereof) should seek appropriate advice before taking any action.
In connection with the Placings, the Joint Bookrunners and the Manager and any of their affiliates, acting as investors for their own account, may take up a portion of the shares in the Placing and/or the Warrant Placing as a principal position and in that capacity may retain, purchase, sell, offer to sell for the own accounts or otherwise deal for their own account in such shares and other securities of the Company or related investments in connection with the Placing or otherwise. Accordingly, references to Placing Shares or Warrants being offered, acquired, placed or otherwise dealt in should be read as including any issue or offer to, or acquisition, placing or dealing by, the Joint Bookrunners, the Manager and their affiliates acting in such capacity. In addition, the Joint Bookrunners and the Manager and any of their affiliates may enter into financing arrangements (including swaps) with investors in connection with which the Joint Bookrunners and the Manager and any of their affiliates may from time to time acquire, hold or dispose of shares or other securities. The Joint Bookrunners and the Manager do not intend to disclose the extent of any such investment or transactions otherwise than in accordance with any legal or regulatory obligations to do so.
This Announcement may contain and the Company may make verbal statements containing "forward-looking statements" with respect to certain of the Company's plans and its current goals and expectations relating to its future financial condition, performance, strategic initiatives, objectives and results. Forward-looking statements sometimes use words such as "aim", "anticipate", "target", "expect", "estimate", "intend", "plan", "goal", "believe", "seek", "may", "could", "outlook” or other words of similar meaning. By their nature, all forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to future events and circumstances which are beyond the control of the Company. As a result, the actual future financial condition, performance and results of the Company may differ materially from the plans, goals and expectations set forth in any forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements made in this Announcement by or on behalf of the Company speak only as of the date they are made. These forward-looking statements reflect the Company's judgment at the date of this Announcement and are not intended to give any assurance as to future results and cautions that its actual results of operations and financial condition, and the development of the industry in which it operates, may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward-looking statements contained in this Announcement and/or information incorporated by reference into this Announcement. The information contained in this Announcement is subject to change without notice and except as required by applicable law or regulation, each of the Company, the Joint Bookrunners and the Manager expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to publish any updates, supplements or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained in this Announcement to reflect any changes in the Company's expectations with regard thereto or any changes in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based, except where required to do so under applicable law or regulation.
This Announcement does not identify or suggest, or purport to identify or suggest, the risks (direct or indirect) that may be associated with an investment in the Placing Shares or the Warrants. Any investment decision to buy Placing Shares in the Placing or Warrants in the Warrant Placing must be made solely on the basis of publicly available information, which has not been independently verified by the Joint Bookrunners or the Manager.
This Announcement does not constitute a prospectus or offering memorandum or an offer in respect of any securities and is not intended to provide the basis for any decision in respect of the Company or other evaluation of any securities of the Company or any other entity and should not be considered as a recommendation that any investor should subscribe for, purchase, otherwise acquire, sell or otherwise dispose of any such securities. Recipients of this Announcement who are considering acquiring Placing Shares pursuant to the Placing and/or Warrants pursuant to the Warrant Placing are reminded that they should conduct their own investigation, evaluation and analysis of the business, data and property described in this Announcement. The price and value of securities can go down as well as up and investors may not get back the full amount invested upon the disposal of the shares. Past performance is not a guide to future performance. The contents of this Announcement are not to be construed as legal, business, financial or tax advice. Each investor should consult with his or her or its own legal adviser, business adviser, financial adviser or tax adviser for legal, financial, business or tax advice.
Any indication in this Announcement of the price at which the Company's shares have been bought or sold in the past cannot be relied upon as a guide to future performance. Persons needing advice should consult an independent financial adviser. No statement in this Announcement is intended to be a profit forecast or profit estimate for any period and no statement in this Announcement should be interpreted to mean that earnings, earnings per share or income, cash flow from operations or free cash flow for the Company for the current or future financial periods would necessarily match or exceed the historical published earnings, earnings per share or income, cash flow from operations or free cash flow for the Company.
References in this Announcement to other reports or materials, such as a website address, have been provided to direct the reader to other sources of information on the Company which may be of interest.
Neither the content of the Company's website (or any other website) nor the content of any website accessible from hyperlinks on the Company's website (or any other website) is incorporated into or forms part of this Announcement.
The Placing Shares to be issued or sold pursuant to the Placing will not be admitted to trading on any stock exchange other than AIM and the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX"). The Warrants will not be transferable and will not be admitted to trading on any stock exchange.
The Appendix to this Announcement (which forms part of this Announcement) sets out further information relating to the terms and conditions of the Placing, the Warrant Placing and the Bookbuilds. Persons who choose to participate in the Placing or the Placing and the Warrant Placing, by making an oral or written offer to subscribe for Placing Shares or Placing Shares and Warrants, will be deemed to have read and understood this Announcement in its entirety (including the Appendix) and to be making such offer on the terms and subject to the conditions in this Announcement and to be providing the representations, warranties, agreements, acknowledgements and undertakings contained in the Appendix.
Information to Distributors on the Placing
Solely for the purposes of the product governance requirements of Chapter 3 of the FCA Handbook Product Intervention and Product Governance Sourcebook (the "UK MiFIR Product Governance Requirements"), and disclaiming all and any liability, whether arising in tort, contract or otherwise, which any "manufacturer" (for the purposes of the UK MiFIR Product Governance Requirements) may otherwise have with respect thereto, the Placing Shares have been subject to a product approval process, which has determined that the Placing Shares are: (i) compatible with an end target market of retail investors and investors who meet the criteria of professional clients and eligible counterparties, as respectively defined in paragraphs 3.5 and 3.6 of COBS; and (ii) eligible for distribution through all permitted distribution channels (the "Target Market Assessment"). Notwithstanding the Target Market Assessment, Distributors should note that: the price of the Placing Shares may decline and investors could lose all or part of their investment; the Placing Shares offer no guaranteed income and no capital protection; and an investment in the Placing Shares is compatible only with investors who do not need a guaranteed income or capital protection, who (either alone or in conjunction with an appropriate financial or other adviser) are capable of evaluating the merits and risks of such an investment and who have sufficient resources to be able to bear any losses that may result therefrom. The Target Market Assessment is without prejudice to any contractual, legal or regulatory selling restrictions in relation to the Placing. Furthermore, it is noted that, notwithstanding the Target Market Assessment, the Joint Bookrunners and Beacon will only procure investors who meet the criteria of professional clients and eligible counterparties.
For the avoidance of doubt, the Target Market Assessment does not constitute: (a) an assessment of suitability or appropriateness for the purposes of Chapters 9A or 10A respectively of COBS; or (b) a recommendation to any investor or group of investors to invest in, or purchase, or take any other action whatsoever with respect to the Placing Shares. Each distributor is responsible for undertaking its own target market assessment in respect of the Placing Shares and determining appropriate distribution channels.
Information to Distributors on the Warrant Placing
Solely for the purposes of the product governance requirements of Chapter 3 of the FCA Handbook Product Intervention and Product Governance Sourcebook (the "UK MiFIR Product Governance Requirements"), and disclaiming all and any liability, whether arising in tort, contract or otherwise, which any "manufacturer" (for the purposes of the UK MiFIR Product Governance Requirements) may otherwise have with respect thereto, the Warrants have been subject to a product approval process, which has determined that the Warrants are: (i) compatible with an end target market of investors who meet the criteria of professional clients and eligible counterparties, as respectively defined in paragraphs 3.5 and 3.6 of COBS; and (ii) eligible for distribution through all permitted distribution channels (the "Target Market Assessment"). Notwithstanding the Target Market Assessment, Distributors should note that: the value of the Warrants and the new Ordinary Shares into which they may convert may decline and investors could lose all or part of their investment; the Warrants offer no guaranteed income and no capital protection; and an investment in the Warrants is compatible only with investors who do not need a guaranteed income or capital protection, who (either alone or in conjunction with an appropriate financial or other adviser) are capable of evaluating the merits and risks of such an investment and who have sufficient resources to be able to bear any losses that may result therefrom. The Target Market Assessment is without prejudice to any contractual, legal or regulatory selling restrictions in relation to the Warrant Placing. Furthermore, it is noted that, notwithstanding the Target Market Assessment, the Joint Bookrunners and Beacon will only procure investors who meet the criteria of professional clients and eligible counterparties.
For the avoidance of doubt, the Target Market Assessment does not constitute: (a) an assessment of suitability or appropriateness for the purposes of Chapters 9A or 10A respectively of COBS; or (b) a recommendation to any investor or group of investors to invest in, or purchase, or take any other action whatsoever with respect to the Warrants. Each distributor is responsible for undertaking its own target market assessment in respect of the Placing Shares and determining appropriate distribution channels.
Copies of this announcement are available from the Company's website at www.serabigold.com.
Neither the London Stock Exchange, the Toronto Stock Exchange, nor any other securities regulatory authority, has approved or disapproved of the contents of this announcement.
The exchange rates used in respect of the Placings are £1:US$1.3976 and £1:C$1.7580
Appendix I
Terms and Conditions of the Placings for invited Placees only
MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ARE NOT ELIGIBLE TO TAKE PART IN THE PLACING OR THE WARRANT PLACING. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT (INCLUDING THE APPENDICES) AND THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS SET OUT HEREIN (THE "ANNOUNCEMENT") IS FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS DIRECTED ONLY AT PERSONS WHOSE ORDINARY ACTIVITIES INVOLVE THEM IN ACQUIRING, HOLDING, MANAGING AND DISPOSING OF INVESTMENTS (AS PRINCIPAL OR AGENT) FOR THE PURPOSES OF THEIR BUSINESS AND WHO HAVE PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE IN MATTERS RELATING TO INVESTMENTS AND ARE: (A) IF IN A MEMBER STATE OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AREA (THE "EEA"), PERSONS WHO ARE QUALIFIED INVESTORS ("EEAQUALIFIED INVESTORS"), BEING PERSONS FALLING WITHIN THE MEANING OF ARTICLE 2(E) OF PROSPECTUS REGULATION (EU) 2017/1129 (THE "PROSPECTUS REGULATION"); OR (B) IF IN THE UNITED KINGDOM, PERSONS WHO ARE QUALIFIED INVESTORS ("UK QUALIFIED INVESTORS"), BEING PERSONS FALLING WITHIN THE MEANING OF ARTICLE 2(E) OF PROSPECTUS REGULATION (EU) 2017/1129 AS IT FORMS PART OF DOMESTIC LAW BY VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018 (THE "UK PROSPECTUS REGULATION"), AND WHO ARE (I) PERSONS FALLING WITHIN THE DEFINITION OF "INVESTMENT PROFESSIONAL" IN ARTICLE 19(5) OF THE FINANCIAL SERVICES AND MARKETS ACT 2000 (FINANCIAL PROMOTION) ORDER 2005, AS AMENDED (THE "ORDER"), OR (II) PERSONS WHO FALL WITHIN ARTICLE 49(2)(A) TO (D) (HIGH NET WORTH COMPANIES, UNINCORPORATED ASSOCIATIONS, ETC) OF THE ORDER, OR (C) PERSONS TO WHOM IT MAY OTHERWISE BE LAWFULLY COMMUNICATED (ALL SUCH PERSONS REFERRED TO IN (A), (B) AND (C) ABOVE TOGETHER BEING REFERRED TO AS "RELEVANT PERSONS").
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT MUST NOT BE ACTED ON OR RELIED ON BY PERSONS WHO ARE NOT RELEVANT PERSONS. PERSONS DISTRIBUTING THIS ANNOUNCEMENT MUST SATISFY THEMSELVES THAT IT IS LAWFUL TO DO SO. ANY INVESTMENT OR INVESTMENT ACTIVITY TO WHICH THIS ANNOUNCEMENT RELATES IS AVAILABLE ONLY TO RELEVANT PERSONS AND WILL BE ENGAGED IN ONLY WITH RELEVANT PERSONS. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT DOES NOT ITSELF CONSTITUTE AN OFFER FOR SALE OR SUBSCRIPTION OF ANY SECURITIES IN THE COMPANY.
EACH PLACEE SHOULD CONSULT WITH ITS OWN ADVISERS AS TO LEGAL, TAX, BUSINESS, ACCOUNTING AND RELATED ASPECTS OF AN INVESTMENT IN THE PLACING SHARES.
NONE OF THE PLACING SHARES, THE WARRANTS OR THE ORDINARY SHARES TO BE ISSUED ON EXERCISE OF THE WARRANTS (“WARRANT SHARES”) HAVE BEEN AND WILL NOT BE REGISTERED UNDER THE U.S. SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE "US SECURITIES ACT"), OR UNDER THE SECURITIES LAWS OF, OR WITH ANY SECURITIES REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF, ANY STATE OR OTHER JURISDICTION OF THE UNITED STATES, AND MAY NOT BE OFFERED, SOLD, PLEDGED OR OTHERWISE TRANSFERRED, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN, INTO OR WITHIN THE UNITED STATES (INCLUDING ITS TERRITORIES AND DEPENDENCIES, ANY STATE OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA) (SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITED EXCEPTIONS). THE PLACING SHARES AND WARRANTS MAY ONLY BE OFFERED OR SOLD (I) OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES IN "OFFSHORE TRANSACTIONS" AS DEFINED IN AND PURSUANT TO REGULATION S UNDER THE US SECURITIES ACT ("REGULATION S"); OR (II) WITHIN THE UNITED STATES TO A LIMITED NUMBER OF INVESTORS REASONABLY BELIEVED TO BE "QUALIFIED INSTITUTIONAL BUYERS" ("QIBS") AS DEFINED IN RULE 144A UNDER THE US SECURITIES ACT PURSUANT TO AN EXEMPTION FROM, OR IN A TRANSACTION NOT SUBJECT TO, THE REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS OF THE US SECURITIES ACT.
NO PUBLIC OFFERING OF THE SHARES OR WARRANTS REFERRED TO IN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS BEING MADE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM, CANADA, THE UNITED STATES OR ANY OTHER RESTRICTED TERRITORY OR ELSEWHERE.
Unless otherwise stated, capitalised terms in this Appendix have the meanings ascribed to them in Appendix 2.
This Announcement is for information purposes only and does not itself constitute or form part of an offer to sell or issue or the solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe for securities referred to herein in any jurisdiction including, without limitation, the United States (including its territories and dependencies, any state of the United States and the District of Columbia), Australia, South Africa or Japan (each a "Restricted Territory") or in any other jurisdiction where such offer or solicitation is unlawful. No public offering of securities will be made in connection with the Placing in the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, South Africa, Japan or any other Restricted Territory or elsewhere.
This Announcement, and the information contained herein, is not for release, publication or distribution, directly or indirectly, to persons in any Restricted Territory or in any other jurisdiction in which such release, publication or distribution is unlawful. The distribution of this Announcement and the Placings and/or the offer or sale of the Placing Shares and/or Warrants in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. No action has been taken by the Company, Peel Hunt LLP ("Peel Hunt"), Tamesis Partners LLP ("Tamesis" and, together with Peel Hunt, the "Joint Bookrunners"), Beacon Securities Limited (“Beacon” in its capacity as “Manager”) or any of their respective Affiliates, or any of their, or their respective Affiliates', directors, officers, members, employees, agents or advisers which would permit an offer of the Placing Shares or Warrants or possession or distribution of this Announcement or any other offering or publicity material relating to such Placing Shares or Warrants in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required. Persons distributing any part of this Announcement must satisfy themselves that it is lawful to do so. Persons (including, without limitation, nominees and trustees) who have a contractual or other legal obligation to forward a copy of this Announcement should seek appropriate advice before taking any such action. Persons into whose possession this Announcement comes are required by each of the Company, the Joint Bookrunners and the Manager to inform themselves about, and to observe, any such restrictions.
All offers of the Placing Shares and Warrants will be made pursuant to an exemption from the requirement to produce a prospectus under either the Prospectus Regulation or the UK Prospectus Regulation, as applicable. This Announcement is being distributed and communicated to persons in the UK only in circumstances to which section 21(1) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, as amended ("FSMA") does not apply.
Neither of the Placings has been approved and will not be approved or disapproved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, any state securities commission or any other regulatory authority in the United States, nor have any of the foregoing authorities passed upon or endorsed the merits of the Placings or the accuracy or adequacy of this Announcement. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offence in the United States.
Subject to certain exceptions, the securities referred to in this Announcement may not be offered or sold in any Restricted Territory or in any other jurisdiction where such offer or sale is unlawful or to, or for the account or benefit of, a citizen or resident, or a corporation, partnership or other entity created or organised in or under the laws of a Restricted Territory or in any other jurisdiction where such offer or sale is unlawful.
NOTICE TO CANADIAN INVESTORS
No offer of securities is made pursuant to this Announcement in Canada except to a person who has represented to the Company, the Joint Bookrunners and the Manager that such person: (i) is purchasing as principal, or is deemed to be purchasing as principal in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws, for investment only and not with a view to resale or distribution; and (ii) is an "accredited investor" as such term is defined in section 1.1 of National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus Exemptions or, in Ontario, as such term is defined in section 73.3(1) of the Securities Act (Ontario). The Placing Shares and the Warrants are being sold in Canada in reliance on an exemption or exemptions from the requirements to provide the relevant Placees with a prospectus and, as a consequence of acquiring securities pursuant to this exemption or exemptions, certain protections, rights and remedies provided by the applicable Canadian securities laws will not be available to the relevant Placee. The Placing Shares, the Warrants and the Warrant Shares will be subject to statutory resale restrictions under the applicable Canadian securities laws and any resale of the Placing Shares, the Warrants and the Warrant Shares must be made in accordance with such resale restrictions or in reliance on an available exemption therefrom. The Placee is solely responsible (and Company not in any way responsible) for compliance with applicable securities laws in the resale of any Placing Shares, the Warrants and the Warrant Shares.
This Announcement has been issued by, and is the sole responsibility of, the Company. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is or will be made as to, or in relation to, and no responsibility or liability is or will be accepted by either of the Joint Bookrunners or the Manager or any of their respective Affiliates, or any of their or their respective Affiliates' directors, officers, employees, agents or advisers as to or in relation to, the accuracy or completeness of this Announcement or any other written or oral information made available to or publicly available to any party or its advisers, and any liability therefore is expressly disclaimed.
The Joint Bookrunners and the Manager are acting exclusively for the Company and no-one else in connection with the Placings and are not, and will not be, responsible to anyone (including the Placees) other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to their clients nor for providing advice in relation to the Placings and/or any other matter referred to in this Announcement.
None of the Company, the Joint Bookrunners, the Manager nor their respective Affiliates, nor any of their, or their respective Affiliates', directors, officers, employees, agents or advisers, makes any representation or warranty, express or implied to any Placees regarding any investment in the securities referred to in this Announcement under the laws applicable to such Placees. Each Placee should consult its own advisers as to the legal, tax, business, financial and related aspects of an investment in the Placing Shares and/or Warrants.
By participating in the Placing or the Placing and the Warrant Placing, Placees (including individuals, funds or otherwise) by whom or on whose behalf a commitment to acquire Placing Shares or Placing Shares and Warrants has been given will (i) be deemed to have read and understood this Announcement, in its entirety; and (ii) be making such offer on the terms and conditions contained in this Appendix, including being deemed to be providing (and shall only be permitted to participate in the Placing on the basis that they have provided) the representations, warranties, indemnities, acknowledgements and undertakings set out herein.
In particular, each such Placee represents, warrants, undertakes, agrees and acknowledges that:
(a) it is an Relevant Person and undertakes that it will acquire, hold, manage or dispose of any Placing Shares and Warrants that are allocated to it for the purposes of its business;
(b) except as otherwise permitted by the Company, the Joint Bookrunners and the Manager and subject to any available exemptions from applicable securities laws, it and any account with respect to which it exercises sole investment discretion, is either (i) located outside the United States subscribing for the Placing Shares as part of "offshore transactions" as defined in and in reliance on Regulation S under the US Securities Act, or (ii) is a "qualified institutional buyer" ("QIB") as defined in Rule 144A under the US Securities Act; and
(c) if it is a financial intermediary, as that term is used in Article 2(d) of the Prospectus Regulation or the UK Prospectus Regulation, as applicable, that it understands the resale and transfer restrictions set out in this Appendix and that any Placing Shares acquired by it in the Placing and any Warrants acquired by it in the Warrant Placing will not be acquired on a non-discretionary basis on behalf of, nor will they be acquired with a view to their offer or resale to, persons in circumstances which may give rise to an offer of securities to the public other than an offer or resale in a member state of the EEA to EEA Qualified Investors or in the United Kingdom to Relevant Persons, or in circumstances in which the prior consent of the Joint Bookrunners has been given to each such proposed offer or resale.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR PLACEES ONLY REGARDING THE PLACINGS
Defined terms used in this Appendix 1 are set out in Appendix 2.
Bookbuild
Following the release of this Announcement, the Joint Bookrunners and the Manager will commence an accelerated bookbuilding process in respect of the Placing and in respect of the Warrant Placing (the "Bookbuilds" and each a Bookbuild) to determine demand for participation in the Placings by Placees. The books will open with immediate effect following release of this Announcement. No commissions will be paid to Placees or by Placees in respect of any Placing Shares or Warrants. Members of the public are not entitled to participate in the Placing or the Warrant Placing. This Appendix gives details of the terms and conditions of, and the mechanics of participation in, the Placings.
The Joint Bookrunners, the Manager and the Company shall be entitled to effect each of the Placings by such alternative method to the Bookbuild as they may, in their absolute discretion, determine. To the extent that the Joint Bookrunners and the Manager do not procure subscribers for Placing Shares or Warrants, the Joint Bookrunners and the Manager will not be required itself to subscribe for such shares or warrants.
Details of the Placing Agreement, the Placing Shares and the Warrants
The Joint Bookrunners and the Manager are acting as placement agents in connection with the Placings. The Joint Bookrunners and the Manager have entered into an agreement with the Company (the "Placing Agreement") under which, subject to the conditions set out therein, the Joint Bookrunners and the Manager have agreed, as agents for the Company, severally to use reasonable endeavours to procure Placees for Placing Shares at a price of £0.75 (C$1.32) per Placing Share (the "Placing Price") and for warrants on the Warrant Subscription Date at a subscription price of £0.06 (C$0.11) per warrant (“Warrant Subscription Price”) such warrants having an exercise price of £0.9375 (C$1.65) per new ordinary share, subject to adjustment for certain corporate events (“Exercise Price”) and an exercise period of two years from their date of issue (“Warrants”) . The number of Placing Shares in the Placing and the number of Warrants in the Warrant Placing will be determined following completion of the Bookbuilds and set out in a term sheet to be entered into between Joint Bookrunners and the Company (the "Term Sheet"). The final number of Placing Shares and Warrants and their respective allocations will be decided at the close of the Bookbuild. The timing of the closing of the books will be at the discretion of the Joint Bookrunners. Details of the number of Placing Shares and Warrants will be announced as soon as practicable after the close of the Bookbuilds.
The Placing Shares have been or will be duly authorised and will, when issued, be credited as fully paid and will rank pari passu in all respects with the existing Ordinary Shares and the PrimaryBid Offer Shares (as defined below), including the right to receive all dividends and other distributions declared, made or paid in respect of the Ordinary Shares after their date of issue. The Placing Shares will be issued free of any encumbrances, liens or other security interests.
The Placing will be effected by way of a placing of new Ordinary Shares in the Company for non-cash consideration. Peel Hunt will subscribe for ordinary shares and redeemable preference shares in Project Angus (Jersey) Limited ("JerseyCo"), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, for an amount approximately equal to the gross proceeds of the Placing. The Company will allot and issue the Placing Shares on a non-pre-emptive basis to Placees in consideration for the transfer to the Company by Peel Hunt of the ordinary shares and redeemable preference shares in JerseyCo that will be issued to Peel Hunt. Following such transfer (and any equivalent transfer in respect of the PrimaryBid Offer), the Company will own all of the issued ordinary and redeemable preference shares of JerseyCo, whose only asset will be its cash reserves, which will represent an amount approximately equal to the gross proceeds of the Placing (less any costs deducted by Peel Hunt, or amounts set-off by Peel Hunt in respect of defaulting placees) (and the gross proceeds of the PrimaryBid Offer).
In addition to the Placings, the Company intends to make an offer on the Primary Bid platform of new Ordinary Shares, the PrimaryBid Offer Shares at the Placing Price. The PrimaryBid Offer is conditional on the Placing but the Placing is not conditional on the PrimaryBid Offer. The Joint Bookrunners and the Manager are acting as placement agents only in connection with the Placing and are not acting for any person, including the Company in respect of the PrimaryBid Offer.
The Placing is not conditional upon the PrimaryBid Offer or the Warrant Placing. The Warrant Placing is conditional amongst other things on the Placing and upon Shareholder approval.
Application for Admission to Trading on AIM and Listing on the TSX
Application will be made to London Stock Exchange plc ("LSE") for the Placing Shares and the PrimaryBid Offer Shares to be admitted to trading on the AIM Market of the LSE ("AIM") ("Admission"). Application has also been made to list the Placing Shares and the PrimaryBid Offer Shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange (“TSX”). It is expected that Admission will take place at 8.00 am on 9 March 2021 (or such later date as may be agreed between the Company and the Joint Bookrunners, provided that such date is no later than the Long Stop Date). The listing of the Placing Shares on the TSX is expected to occur prior to the commencement of trading on the date of Admission.
The Warrants will not be transferable and will not be listed on AIM, the Toronto Stock Exchange or any other exchange or market.
Participation in, and principal terms of, the Placings
Conditions of the Placings
The Placing is conditional upon the Placing Agreement becoming unconditional in respect of the Placing and not having been terminated in accordance with its terms. The Joint Bookrunners' and the Manager’s obligations under the Placing Agreement with respect to the Placing and the Warrant Placing are conditional on certain conditions, including (without limitation):
If: (i) any of the conditions contained in the Placing Agreement, including (without limitation) those described above, are not fulfilled or (where applicable) waived by the Joint Bookrunners by the relevant time or date specified (or such later time or date as the Company and the Joint Bookrunners may agree); or (ii) the Placing Agreement is terminated in the circumstances specified below, the Placing and the Warrant Placing will lapse and the Placees' rights and obligations hereunder in relation to the Placing Shares and Warrants shall cease and terminate at such time and each Placee agrees that no claim can be made by it in respect thereof.
The Warrant Placing is conditional upon the Placing Agreement becoming unconditional in respect of the Warrant Placing and not having been terminated in accordance with its terms in respect of the Warrant Placing. The Joint Bookrunners' and the Manager’s obligations under the Placing Agreement in respect of the Warrant Placing are conditional on certain conditions, including (without limitation):
1. Admission;
2. the posting of a circular to shareholders convening a meeting to consider the Shareholder Resolutions no later than the end of April 2021;
3. the passing of the Shareholder Resolutions by the requisite majorities;
4. the Company complying with its obligations under the Placing Agreement to the extent that the same fall to be performed prior to the issue of the Warrants;
5. the representations and warranties of the Company contained in the Placing Agreement being true and accurate and not misleading on and as of the date of the Placing Agreement, the date of the Term Sheet and the date of Admission, and the issue of the Warrants as though they had been given and made on such dates by reference to the facts and circumstances then subsisting; and
6. the issue of the Warrants taking place by not later than 8.00 a.m. on the second Business Day after the passing of the Shareholder Resolutions (or such later time and/or date as may be agreed between the Company and the Joint Bookrunners, being not later than the Warrant Long Stop Date).
If: (i) any of the conditions contained in the Placing Agreement, including (without limitation) those described above, are not fulfilled or (where applicable) waived by the Joint Bookrunners by the relevant time or date specified (or such later time or date as the Company and the Joint Bookrunners may agree); or (ii) the Placing Agreement is terminated in respect of the Warrant Placing in the circumstances specified below, in each case following Admission, the Warrant Placing will lapse and the Placees' rights and obligations hereunder in relation to the Warrants shall cease and terminate at such time and each Placee agrees that no claim can be made by it in respect thereof.
The Joint Bookrunners may, at their absolute discretion (acting jointly and in good faith) waive compliance by the Company with the whole or any part of any of the Company's obligations in relation to the conditions in the Placing Agreement (either generally or, following Admission, in respect of the Warrant Placing and in each case to the extent that the Joint Bookrunners are capable of waiving such condition). Any such extension or waiver will not affect Placees' commitments as set out in this Announcement.
Neither of the Company, the Joint Bookrunners nor any of their respective Affiliates, nor any of its or their respective Affiliates' directors, officers, employees, agents or advisers shall have any liability to any Placee (or to any other person whether acting on behalf of a Placee or otherwise) in respect of any decision it or another person may make as to whether or not to waive or to extend the time and/or date for the satisfaction of any condition to the Placing and/or the Warrant Placing nor for any decision it may make as to the satisfaction of any condition or in respect of a Placing generally and by participating in a Placing each Placee agrees that any such decision is within the absolute discretion of the Joint Bookrunners.
By participating in the Bookbuild, each Placee agrees that its rights and obligations hereunder terminate only in the circumstances described above and under "Termination of the Placing Agreement" below, and will not be capable of rescission or termination by the Placee.
Termination of the Placing Agreement
The Joint Bookrunners are entitled at any time before Admission, to terminate the Placing Agreement in accordance with its terms in certain circumstances, including, inter alia, if:
The Joint Bookrunners are entitled at any time following Admission but before the issue of the Warrants, to terminate the Placing Agreement in respect of the Warrant Placing in accordance with its terms in certain circumstances, including, inter alia, if:
By participating in the Placing, Placees agree that the exercise by the Joint Bookrunners of any right of termination or other discretion under the Placing Agreement shall be within the absolute discretion of the Joint Bookrunners or for agreement between the Company and the Joint Bookrunners (as the case may be) and that neither the Company nor the Joint Bookrunners need make any reference to, or undertake any consultation with, Placees and that neither they nor any of their respective Affiliates, agents, directors, officers or employees shall have any liability to Placees whatsoever in connection with any such exercise.
No prospectus
No offering document, prospectus or admission document has been or will be prepared or submitted to be approved by the FCA (or any other authority) in relation to the Placing or the Warrant Placing, and Placees' commitments will be made solely on the basis of publicly available information taken together with the information contained in this Announcement and any Exchange Information (as defined below) previously published by or on behalf of the Company simultaneously with or prior to the date of this Announcement and subject to the further terms set forth in the contract note (referred to in paragraph 5 above under "Participation in, and principal terms of, the Placings") to be provided to individual prospective Placees.
Each Placee, by participating in the Placing, agrees that the content of this Announcement and the publicly available information released by or on behalf of the Company is exclusively the responsibility of the Company and confirms to the Joint Bookrunners, the Manager and the Company that it has neither received nor relied on any other information, representation, warranty, or statement made by or on behalf of the Company (other than publicly available information) or the Joint Bookrunners or the Manager or their respective Affiliates or any other person and none of the Joint Bookrunners nor the Manager nor the Company, nor any of their respective Affiliates nor any other person will be liable for any Placee's decision to participate in the Placings (or either of them) based on any other information, representation, warranty or statement which the Placees may have obtained or received (regardless of whether or not such information, representation, warranty or statement was given or made by or on behalf of any such persons). By participating in the Placing or the Placing and the Warrant Placing, each Placee acknowledges and agrees that it has relied on its own investigation of the business, financial or other position of the Company in making an offer to participate in the Placing or the Placing and the Warrant Placing. Nothing in this paragraph shall exclude the liability of any person for fraudulent misrepresentation.
Lock-up
The Company has undertaken to the Joint Bookrunners and the Manager that, between the date of the Placing Agreement and 90 calendar days after Admission, it will not, without the prior written consent of the Joint Bookrunners and the Manager, enter into certain transactions involving or relating to the Ordinary Shares, other than pursuant to the Placing and the Warrant Placing, subject to certain customary carve-outs agreed between the Joint Bookrunners and the Company.
By participating in the Placing or the Placing and the Warrant Placing, Placees agree that the exercise by the Joint Bookrunners and the Manager of any power to grant consent to waive the undertaking by the Company of a transaction which would otherwise be subject to the lock-up under the Placing Agreement shall be within the absolute discretion of the Joint Bookrunners and the Manager and that they need not make any reference to, or consult with, Placees and that they shall have no liability to Placees whatsoever in connection with any such exercise of the power to grant consent.
Registration and settlement
Settlement of transactions in the Placing Shares (ISIN: GB00BG5NDX91) following Admission will take place within the relevant system administered by Euroclear ("CREST"), using the delivery versus payment mechanism, subject to certain exceptions. Subject to certain exceptions, the Joint Bookrunners, the Manager and the Company reserve the right to require settlement for, and delivery of, the Placing Shares to Placees by such other means that they deem necessary if delivery or settlement is not practicable in CREST within the timetable set out in this Announcement or would not be consistent with the regulatory requirements in the Placee's jurisdiction.
Following the close of the Bookbuild for the Placing, each Placee allocated Placing Shares in the Placing and, where applicable Warrants in the Warrant Placing will be sent a contract note stating the number of Placing Shares to be allocated to it at the Placing Price, the aggregate amount owed by such Placee to the Joint Bookrunners and the Manager and settlement instructions. Placees should settle against CREST ID: 871 in respect of the Placing Shares. Where a Placee is allocated Warrants, the contract note will state the number of Warrants to be allocated to it at the Warrant Subscription Price, the aggregate amount owed by such Placee to the Joint Bookrunners and the Manager and settlement instructions. It is expected that such contract note will be despatched on or around 2 March 2021 and that this will also be the trade date.
Each Placee agrees that it will do all things necessary to ensure that delivery and payment for any Placing Shares is completed in accordance with either the standing CREST or certificated settlement instructions that it has in place with the relevant Joint Bookrunner or the Manager. Each Placee agrees that it will do all things necessary to ensure that delivery and payment in respect of any Warrants allocated to it will completed in the manner notified to it by the relevant Joint Bookrunner or the Manager.
The Company will deliver the Placing Shares to a CREST account operated by Peel Hunt as agent for the Company and Peel Hunt will enter its delivery (DEL) instruction into the CREST system. Peel Hunt will hold any Placing Shares delivered to this account as nominee for the Placees. The input to CREST by a Placee of a matching or acceptance instruction will then allow delivery of the relevant Placing Shares to that Placee against payment.
It is expected that settlement of the Placing Shares will be on 9 March 2021 on a T+5 basis in accordance with the instructions given by the Joint Bookrunners or the Manager.
Settlement of the Warrants will, subject amongst other things on the passing of the Shareholder Resolutions take place on the date of the issue of the Warrants which is expected to be 2 Business Days after the passing of the Shareholder Resolutions. Settlement of the Warrants will be in certificated form unless otherwise agreed with the relevant Joint Bookrunner or Manager.
Interest is chargeable daily on payments not received from Placees on the due date in accordance with the arrangements set out above at the rate of two percentage points above LIBOR as determined by the Joint Bookrunners or the Manager.
Each Placee agrees that, if it does not comply with these obligations, the Joint Bookrunners or the Manager may sell any or all of the Placing Shares allocated to that Placee on such Placee's behalf and retain from the proceeds, for the Company's account and benefit, an amount equal to the aggregate amount owed by the Placee plus any interest due or, in the case of the Warrant Subscription Price, refuse to issue or cancel the relevant warrant. The relevant Placee will, however, remain liable for any shortfall below the aggregate amount owed by it and shall be required to bear any stamp duty, stamp duty reserve tax or other stamp, securities, transfer, registration, execution, documentary or other similar impost, duty or tax (together with any interest or penalties) which may arise upon the sale of such Placing Shares on such Placee's behalf. If a Placee fails to make payment for Placing Shares allocated to that Placee, the Joint Bookrunners or the Manager may assign their rights and powers under this Appendix against such defaulting Placee to JerseyCo without notice to the relevant Placee. The foregoing is without prejudice to any cause of action the Joint Bookrunners or the Manager may have against a defaulting Placee.
If Placing Shares are to be delivered to a custodian or settlement agent, Placees should ensure that the contract note is copied and delivered immediately to the relevant person within that organisation. Insofar as Placing Shares are registered in a Placee's name or that of its nominee or in the name of any person for whom a Placee is contracting as agent or that of a nominee for such person, such Placing Shares should, subject to as provided below, be so registered free from any liability to UK stamp duty or UK stamp duty reserve tax. If there are any circumstances in which any other stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax (and/or any interest, fines or penalties relating thereto) is payable in respect of the allocation, allotment, issue or delivery of the Placing Shares (or for the avoidance of doubt if any stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax is payable in connection with any subsequent transfer of or agreement to transfer Placing Shares), neither of the Joint Bookrunners nor the Manager nor the Company shall be responsible for the payment thereof.
Representations and warranties
By submitting a bid and/or participating in the Placing or the Placing and the Warrant Placing, each prospective Placee (and any person acting on such Placee's behalf) irrevocably acknowledges, confirms, undertakes, represents, warrants and agrees (as the case may be) with each of the Joint Bookrunners and the Manager (in their capacity as placing agents in respect of the Placings) and the Company, in each case as a fundamental term of its application for Placing Shares or Placing Shares and Warrants, the following:
“unless permitted under securities legislation, the holder of this security must not trade the security before 10 July 2021."
British Columbia Securities Commission P.O. Box 10142, Pacific Centre 701 West Georgia Street Vancouver, British Columbia V7Y 1L2 Inquiries: (604) 899-6854 Toll free in Canada: 1-800-373-6393 Facsimile: (604) 899-6581 Email: FOI-privacy@bcsc.bc.ca Public official contact: FOI Inquiries |
Alberta Securities Commission Suite 600, 250 – 5th Street SW Calgary, Alberta T2P 0R4 Telephone: (403) 297-6454 Toll free in Canada: 1-877-355-0585 Facsimile: (403) 297-2082 Public official contact: FOIP Coordinator |
Ontario Securities Commission 20 Queen Street West, 22nd Floor Toronto, Ontario M5H 3S8 Telephone: (416) 593- 8314 Toll free in Canada: 1-877-785-1555 Facsimile: (416) 593-8122 Email: Exemptmarketfilings@osc.gov.on.ca Public official contact: Inquiries Officer |
The Manitoba Securities Commission 500 – 400 St. Mary Avenue Winnipeg, Manitoba R3C 4K5 Telephone: (204) 945-2561 Toll free in Manitoba: 1-800-655-5244 Facsimile: (204) 945-0330 Public official contact: Director |
The foregoing acknowledgements, agreements, undertakings, representations, warranties and confirmations are given for the benefit of the Company as well as each of the Joint Bookrunners and the Manager (for their own benefit and, where relevant, the benefit of their respective Affiliates and any person acting on their behalf) and are irrevocable. Each Placee, and any person acting on behalf of a Placee, acknowledges that neither of the Joint Bookrunners, the Manager or the Company owe any fiduciary or other duties to any Placee in respect of any representations, warranties, undertakings or indemnities in the Placing Agreement.
Please also note that the agreement to allot and issue Placing Shares to Placees (or the persons for whom Placees are contracting as nominee or agent) free of UK stamp duty and UK stamp duty reserve tax relates only to their allotment and issue to Placees, or such persons as they nominate as their agents or nominees, direct from the Company for the Placing Shares in question. None of the Company or the Joint Bookrunners or the Manager will be responsible for any UK stamp duty or UK stamp duty reserve tax (including any interest and penalties relating thereto) arising in relation to the Placing Shares in any other circumstances.
Such agreement is subject to the representations, warranties and further terms above and also assumes, and is based on a warranty from each Placee, that the Placing Shares and Warrants are not being acquired in connection with arrangements to issue depositary receipts or to issue or transfer the Placing Shares or Warrants into a clearance service. Neither of the Joint Bookrunners nor the Manager nor the Company are liable to bear any stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax or any other similar duties or taxes ("transfer taxes") that arise (i) if there are any such arrangements (or if any such arrangements arise subsequent to the acquisition by Placees of Placing Shares or Warrants) or (ii) on a sale of Placing Shares, or (iii) for transfer taxes arising otherwise than under the laws of the United Kingdom. Each Placee to whom (or on behalf of whom, or in respect of the person for whom it is participating in the Placing as an agent or nominee) the allocation, allotment, issue or delivery of Placing Shares or Warrants has given rise to such transfer taxes undertakes to pay such transfer taxes forthwith, and agrees to indemnify on an after-tax basis and hold the Joint Bookrunners, the Manager, the Company, their respective Affiliates and any person acting on any of their respective behalf harmless from any such transfer taxes, and all interest, fines or penalties in relation to such transfer taxes. Each Placee should, therefore, take its own advice as to whether any such transfer tax liability arises.
Each Placee and any person acting on behalf of each Placee acknowledges and agrees that either of the Joint Bookrunners, the Manager or any of their respective Affiliates may, at their absolute discretion, agree to become a Placee in respect of some or all of the Placing Shares or Warrants. Each Placee acknowledges and is aware that the Joint Bookrunners and the Manager are receiving a fee in connection with their role in respect of the Placings as detailed in the Placing Agreement.
When a Placee or person acting on behalf of the Placee is dealing with the Joint Bookrunners or the Manager, any money held in an account with either of the Joint Bookrunners or the Manager on behalf of the Placee and/or any person acting on behalf of the Placee will not be treated as client money within the meaning of the rules and regulations of the FCA made under the FSMA. The Placee acknowledges that the money will not be subject to the protections conferred by the client money rules, as a consequence, this money will not be segregated from the Joint Bookrunners' or the Manager’s money in accordance with the client money rules and will be used by the Joint Bookrunners and the Manager in the course of its own business, and the Placee will rank only as a general creditor of the Joint Bookrunners or the Manager.
All times and dates in this Announcement may be subject to amendment. Either of the Joint Bookrunners or the Manager shall notify the Placees and any person acting on behalf of the Placees of any changes.
No statement in the Placing Documents is intended to be a profit forecast or estimate, and no statement in the Placing Documents should be interpreted to mean that earnings per share of the Company for the current or future financial years would necessarily match or exceed the historical published earnings per share of the Company. Past performance is no guide to future performance and persons needing advice should consult an independent financial adviser.
The rights and remedies of the Joint Bookrunners, the Manager and the Company under these Terms and Conditions are in addition to any rights and remedies which would otherwise be available to each of them and the exercise or partial exercise of one will not prevent the exercise of others.
If a Placee is a discretionary fund manager, the Placee may be asked to disclose in writing or orally to the Joint Bookrunners or the Manager the jurisdiction in which the funds are managed or owned.
Appendix 2
Definitions
The following definitions apply throughout this Announcement unless the context otherwise requires:
Admission | means the admission of the Placing Shares and the PrimaryBid Offer Shares to trading on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange; |
Affiliate | has the meaning given in Rule 50I(b) of Regulation D under the US Securities Act or Rule 405 under the US Securities Act, as applicable and, in the case of the Company, includes its subsidiary undertakings; |
AIM | has the meaning given to in in Appendix 1 of this Announcement; |
AIM Rules | means the AIM Rules for Companies published by the London Stock Exchange; |
Announcement | means this announcement (including its Appendices); |
Beacon | means Beacon Securities Limited; |
Bookbuilds | means the bookbuilding process to be commenced by the Joint Bookrunners and the Manager to use reasonable endeavours to procure placees for the Placing Shares, and the bookbuilding process to be commenced by the Joint Bookrunners and the Manager to use reasonable endeavours to procure placees for the Warrants, in each case as described in this Announcement and subject to the terms and conditions set out in this Announcement and the Placing Agreement and a reference to a “Bookbuild” shall be to either of them. |
Company | means Serabi Gold plc; |
CREST | means the relevant system (as defined in the Uncertificated Securities Regulations 2001 (SI 2001 No. 3755)) in respect of which Euroclear is the Operator (as defined in such Regulations) in accordance with which securities may be held and transferred in uncertificated form; |
EEA | means European Economic Area; |
EEA Qualified Investor | means qualified investors as defined in Article 2(e) of the Prospectus Regulation; |
Euroclear | means Euroclear UK & Ireland Limited, a company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales; |
Exchange Information | means the business and financial information the Company is required to publish in accordance with MAR and the AIM Rules and applicable law; |
Exercise Price | has the meaning given to it in the main body of this Announcement; |
FCA or Financial Conduct Authority | means the UK Financial Conduct Authority; |
FSMA | means the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (as amended, including any regulations made pursuant thereto); |
Group | means the Company and its subsidiary undertakings; |
Greenstone | has the meaning given to it in the main body of this Announcement; |
Information | has the meaning given to in in Appendix 1 of this Announcement; |
Joint Bookrunners | means Peel Hunt and Tamesis; |
Long Stop Date | means 31 March 2021; |
LSE | has the meaning given to in in Appendix 1 of this Announcement; |
Manager | means Beacon Securities Limited in its capacity as Manager; |
MAR | means the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No.596/2014 as it forms part of the law of the United Kingdom by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018; |
Order | has the meaning given to it in the main body of this Announcement; |
Ordinary Shares | means the ordinary shares of 10 pence each in the capital of the Company; |
PCMLTFA | has the meaning given to in in Appendix 1 of this Announcement; |
Peel Hunt | means Peel Hunt LLP; |
Placee | means any person procured by either of the Joint Bookrunners or the Manager (acting as agents for and on behalf of the Company), on the terms and subject to the conditions of the Placing Agreement, to subscribe for the Placing Shares pursuant to the Placing and where applicable Warrants pursuant to the Warrant Placing; |
Placing | has the meaning given to it in the main body of this Announcement; |
Placings | means the Placing and the Warrant Placing; |
Placing Agreement | has the meaning given to it in Appendix I to this Announcement; |
Placing Documents | means any press announcement, presentation materials and any other document published or issued by or on behalf of the Company for the purposes of the Placing or the applications for Admission (including any amendments and supplements to the foregoing); |
Placing Price | means £0.75 or C$1.32; |
Placing Shares | has the meaning given to it in the main body of this Announcement; |
PrimaryBid Offer | has the meaning given to in the main body of this Announcement; |
PrimaryBid Offer Shares | has the meaning given to in the main body of this Announcement; |
Prospectus Regulation | means the Prospectus Regulation (EU) 2017/1129; |
QIB | has the meaning given to in in Appendix 1 of this Announcement; |
QIBS | has the meaning given to in in Appendix 1 of this Announcement; |
Qualified Investors
|
has the meaning given to it in the main body of this Announcement; |
Redemption Agreement | has the meaning given to it in the main body of this Announcement; |
Regulations | has the meaning given to in in Appendix 1 of this Announcement; |
Regulation S | means Regulation S promulgated under the US Securities Act; |
Regulatory Information Service | means a primary information provider that has been approved by the FCA to disseminate regulated information; |
Relevant Persons | means UK Qualified Investors who are (i) persons falling within the definition of "investment professional" in Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the "Order"), or (ii) persons who fall within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) (High Net Worth Companies, Unincorporated Associations, etc.) of the Order or (iii) other persons to whom it may be lawfully communicated; |
Restricted Territory | means the United States, Australia, the Republic of South Africa or Japan; |
Shareholder Resolutions | means the resolutions necessary to approve the issue of the Warrants and the new Ordinary Shares into which the Warrants may be exercised at the annual general meeting of the Company; |
subsidiary | has the meaning given to that term in the Companies Act 2006; |
subsidiary undertaking | has the meaning given to that term in the Companies Act 2006; |
Target Market Assessment | has the meaning given to it in the main body of this Announcement; |
Tamesis | means Tamesis Partners LLP; |
Term Sheet | means the term sheet as may be executed by the Company and the Joint Bookrunners; |
Terms and Conditions | means the terms and conditions of the Placing set out in Appendix I to this Announcement; |
transfer taxes | means stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax or any other similar duties or taxes; |
TSX | has the meaning given to it in the main body of this Announcement; |
uncertificated or in uncertificated form | means in respect of a share or other security, where that share or other security is recorded on the relevant register of the share or security concerned as being held in uncertificated form in CREST and title to which may be transferred by means of CREST; |
UK Prospectus Regulation | means Prospectus Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018; |
UK Qualified Investor | means qualified investors as defined in Article 2(e) of the UK Prospectus Regulation; and |
United Kingdom or UK | means the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. |
US Securities Act | means the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended; |
Warrants | has the meaning given to in in Appendix 1 of this Announcement; |
Warrant Long Stop Date | means 4 June 2021; |
Warrant Placing | has the meaning given to it in the main body of this Announcement; |
Warrant Shares | has the meaning given to in in Appendix 1 of this Announcement; |
Warrant Subscription Date | means the fifth business day after the Company announces the passing of the Shareholder Resolutions; |
Warrant Subscription Price | £0.06 or C$0.11 per Warrant; |
Unless otherwise indicated in this Announcement, all references to "£", "GBP", "pounds", "pound sterling", "sterling", "p", "penny" or "pence" are to the lawful currency of the UK. All references to "U.S.$","$" or "dollars" are to the lawful currency of the United States of America. All references to "€" or "Euro" are to the lawful currency of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain.
Appendix 3
Comparative Mineral Reserves and Resources for the Palito and Sao Chico deposits
For the purpose of comparison the following tables set out the previously disclosed Mineral Reserves and Resources for the Palito and Sao Chico deposits effective 30 June 2017.
Table 1 Condensed Mineral Resource Statement, Palito Mine, Para State, Brazil, Serabi Gold plc, June 30. 2017
Classification |
Quantity
(000’s t) |
Grade | Contained Metal | |||
Au (g/t) | Cu (%) | Au (000’s oz) | Cu (t) | |||
Measured | 274 | 15.21 | 0.77 | 134 | 2,110 | |
Indicated | 371 | 10.91 | 0.57 | 130 | 2,115 | |
Measured and Indicated | ||||||
Inferred | 784 | 7.02 | 0.20 | 177 | 1,568 |
Table 2: Condensed Mineral Resource Statement, São Chico Mine, Para State, Brazil, Serabi Gold plc, June 30. 2017
Classification |
Quantity
(000’s t) |
Grade
Au (g/t) |
Contained Metal
Au (000’s oz) |
Measured | 60 | 13.34 | 26 |
Indicated | 22 | 14.70 | 10 |
Measured and Indicated | 82 | 13.70 | 36 |
Inferred | 123 | 13.77 | 54 |
·Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and have not demonstrated economic viability.
·Mineral Resources are reported inclusive of Mineral Reserves.
·Figures are rounded to reflect the relative accuracy of the estimates.
·Mineral Resources are reported within classification domains inclusive of in situ dilution at a CoG of 2.85 g/t gold assuming an underground extraction scenario, a gold price of US$1,500/oz, and metallurgical recovery of 95%.
·Polygonal techniques were used for Resources estimates.
·Serabi is the operator and owns 100% of the Palito Mine such that gross and net attributable mineral resources are the same. The mineral resource estimate was prepared by the Company in accordance with the standard of CIM and NI 43-101, with an effective date of 30 June 2017, and audited and approved by Mr. Timothy Olson of SRK Consulting (US) Inc., who is a Qualified Person under NI 43-101.
·
Table 3: Mineral Reserves Statement, Palito Mine, Para State, Brazil, Serabi Gold plc, June 30. 2017
Grade | Contained Metal | ||||
Classification | Quantity (000’s t) | Au (g/t) | Cu (%) | Au (000’s oz) | Cu (t) |
Underground | |||||
Proven | 265 | 9.77 | 0.46 | 83 | 1,219 |
Probable | 276 | 7.64 | 0.39 | 68 | 1,076 |
Proven and Probable | 613 | 7.99 | 0.37 | 157 | 2,295 |
·Mineral Reserves have been rounded to reflect the relative accuracy of the estimates. Proven underground Mineral Reserves are reported within the Measured classification domain, and Probable underground Mineral Reserves are reported within the Indicated classification domain. Proven and Probable underground Mineral Reserves are inclusive of external mining dilution and mining loss and are reported at a CoG of 3.70 g/t gold assuming an underground extraction scenario, a gold price of US$1,250/oz, a 3.5:1 Brazilian Real to U.S. Dollar exchange rate, and metallurgical recovery of 91%.
·Serabi is the operator and owns 100% of the Palito Mine such that gross and net attributable mineral reserves are the same. The mineral reserve estimate was prepared by the Company in accordance with the standard of CIM and NI 43-101, with an effective date of 30 June 2017, and audited and approved by Mr. Timothy Olson of SRK Consulting (US) Inc., who is a Qualified Person under NI 43-101.
Table 4: Mineral Reserves Statement, São Chico Mine, Para State, Brazil, Serabi Gold plc, June 30. 2017
Classification |
Quantity
(000’s t) |
Grade | Contained Metal |
Au (g/t) | Au (000’s oz) | ||
Underground | |||
Proven | 65 | 8.15 | 17 |
Probable | 25 | 9.15 | 7 |
Proven and Probable | 90 | 8.43 | 24 |
Appendix 4
Glossary of Technical Terms
The following is a glossary of technical terms:
Note: Mineral resources and reserves were estimated in conformity with the widely accepted CIM Estimation of Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserves Best Practices Guidelines (the "Guidelines") and are reported in accordance with the Canadian Securities Administrators' National Instrument 43-101" and the definitions applicable to individual categories of reserves and resources are set out in the Guidelines. The Glossary below includes only a summary of these definitions and readers can access the full definitions at http://web.cim.org/standards/menupage.cfm?sections=177&menu=178
"Au" means gold.
"CIM" means Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum.
"development" - excavations used to establish access to the mineralised rock and other workings.
"grade" is the concentration of mineral within the host rock typically quoted as grams per tonne (g/t), parts per million (ppm) or parts per billion (ppb).
"g/t" means grams per tonne.
"Indicated Mineral Resource‟ is that part of a Mineral Resource for which quantity, grade or quality, densities, shape and physical characteristics can be estimated with a level of confidence sufficient to allow the appropriate application of technical and economic parameters, to support mine planning and evaluation of the economic viability of the deposit. The estimate is based on detailed and reliable exploration and testing information gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes that are spaced closely enough for geological and grade continuity to be reasonably assumed.
"Inferred Mineral Resource‟ is that part of a Mineral Resource for which quantity and grade or quality can be estimated on the basis of geological evidence and limited sampling and reasonably assumed, but not verified, geological and grade continuity. The estimate is based on limited information and sampling gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes.
"Measured Mineral Resource‟ is that part of a Mineral Resource for which quantity, grade or quality, densities, shape, and physical characteristics are so well established that they can be estimated with confidence sufficient to allow the appropriate application of technical and economic parameters, to support production planning and evaluation of the economic viability of the deposit. The estimate is based on detailed and reliable exploration, sampling and testing information gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes that are spaced closely enough to confirm both geological and grade continuity.
"Mineral Resource" is a concentration or occurrence of diamonds, natural solid inorganic material, or natural solid fossilized organic material including base and precious metals, coal, and industrial minerals in or on the Earth's crust in such form and quantity and of such a grade or quality that it has reasonable prospects for economic extraction. The location, quantity, grade, geological characteristics and continuity of a Mineral Resource are known, estimated or interpreted from specific geological evidence and knowledge.
"Mineral Reserve" is the economically mineable part of a Measured or Indicated Mineral Resource demonstrated by at least a Preliminary Feasibility Study. This Study must include adequate information on mining, processing, metallurgical, economic and other relevant factors that demonstrate, at the time of reporting, that economic extraction can be justified. A Mineral Reserve includes diluting materials and allowances for losses that may occur when the material is mined.
"Probable Mineral Reserve" is the economically mineable part of an Indicated and, in some circumstances, a Measured Mineral Resource demonstrated by at least a Preliminary Feasibility Study. This Study must include adequate information on mining, processing, metallurgical, economic, and other relevant factors that demonstrate, at the time of reporting, that economic extraction can be justified.
"Proven Mineral Reserve" is the economically mineable part of a Measured Mineral Resource. A Proven Mineral Reserve implies a high degree of confidence in the Modifying Factors.
"t" means tonnes
"Vein" is a generic term to describe an occurrence of mineralised rock within an area of non-mineralised rock.