Wheaton plans listing in london this year
Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. is planning to list on the London Stock exchange by the end of the year, seeking to tap into investor demand for so-called streaming deals that have been likened to exchange-traded funds “on steroids.”
Vancouver-based Wheaton expects to join the Lse’s main market by the end of November, CEO randy Smallwood said. It would be the first major streaming company to list there, and its stock would attract the interest of european funds that manage some us$500 billion who can only invest in Lse-listed companies, he said.
“There are several ways you can get gold exposure: you can buy the ETF, you can invest in a streaming company, or you can invest in the mining companies,” Smallwood said by phone Sunday. “Streaming companies haven’t been an option for Lsebased investors before, so we think there’s an opportunity.”
Streaming companies provide upfront payments to miners for the right to buy metals like gold at a discount in the future. That model allows investors to earn dividends and also benefit as the firm grows its assets, whereas the gold in an ETF “doesn’t pay a yield and it doesn’t grow,” Smallwood said.
“To paraphrase what a peer said in the business, streaming is an ETF on steroids,” he said. “The risk profile is very similar but we have growth and we have yield, so in our eyes it’s a much better option.”
Toronto-based yamana gold Inc. is also planning an LSE listing, while Vancouver-based b2gold Corp. said earlier this month it may consider such a move.
Wheaton Precious expects to pay off its debt by the first quarter of next year and may then increase its dividend. “If we get to a positive cash base, where we have cash on hand, we definitely would seriously consider raising the dividend,” Smallwood said.
The firm, already listed in Toronto and New york, has seen a 75-per-cent gain in its Canadian shares this year amid a record-breaking surge in gold. demand has been driven by investors in search of havens as the pandemic threatens global economic growth.
Wheaton doesn’t expect to raise money with its listing — it has enough with nearly $1 billion in cash flows this year, Smallwood said. His bigger problem is finding new streaming deals as the surge in metal prices has driven up prices and expectations.
“Our cash flows are so strong — my biggest challenge is trying to get it back into the ground as fast as I can,” Smallwood said. “It’s a great problem to have.”