Piedmont Lithium Limited (ASX: PLL; Nasdaq: PLL) (“Piedmont” or “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has received commitments to place 145 million shares at an issue price of A$0.145 per share to institutional investors to raise gross proceeds of A$21 million (“Placement”).
The Placement was led by cornerstone investor, Fidelity International (“Fidelity”), a global asset manager. Fidelity will subscribe for 74 million shares and will become a substantial shareholder of the Company.
The Company is also pleased that its largest shareholder, AustralianSuper, the largest industry super fund in Australia, has agreed to subscribe for 19 million shares to maintain its pro-rata 13% position,
further confirming its continued support for the Company and its Piedmont Lithium Project.
The order book was rounded out with a number of high-quality Australian and Asian institutions, including some existing shareholders and others new to the Piedmont story.
Mr. Keith Phillips, President and CEO, said: “We are extremely pleased to welcome Fidelity to our register as a substantial shareholder, and for the continued support of AustralianSuper and several other quality institutional investors in our Company participating based on their strong confidence in the quality of our Piedmont Lithium Project and the prospects for our Company. Securing these funds
will allow us to maintain our ambitious development timetable for what we believe to be the world’s most strategically located lithium project.”
Proceeds from the Placement will be used to complete a definitive feasibility study (“DFS”) and provide funding for the Company to continue development of its 100% owned Piedmont Lithium Project
(“Project”) located in the world-class Carolina Tin-Spodumene Belt (“TSB”) in the United States, including additional drilling to upgrade the Project’s Inferred resources to Indicated resources, additional metallurgical testwork and engineering studies, ongoing land consolidation, and general working capital.
The issue price of A$0.145 represents a 9% discount to the last closing price of A$0.16 and an 11% discount to the 20-day VWAP of A$0.163. The Company expects to issue the Placement shares on or
about 10 July 2019 and will issue the shares under Listing Rules 7.1 and 7.1A.
Shaw and Partners Limited and Aitken Murray Capital Partners acted as Joint Lead Managers to the Placement and Taylor Collison Limited and Foster Stockbroking acted as co-managers.