Global Ferronickel to raise over P500 million from share sale

GLOBAL FERRONICKEL Holdings, Inc. (FNI) has priced its follow-on share sale at a discount, which will allow it to raise just over P500 million or half of its original target of P1 billion.

In a notice posted on the stock exchange Tuesday, FNI said the final offer price for its followon offering ( FOO) is P2.07 per share. This represents an 8.48% discount from P2.2618, FNI’s 10-day volume weighted average price from June 8 to 25.

The price will allow FNI to raise up to P517.5 million, around half of the P1 billion the company initially intended to raise as per a registration statement filed last January. FNI then proposed to price the shares at a maximum of P4 each.

FNI’s planned FOO was filed at the Securities and Exchange Commission as early as December 2014, when the listed mining firm applied to raise a maximum amount of P31.03 billion.

The SEC approved in March 2017 a much lower offer size for the FOO at around P2.025 billion.

FNI tapped Abacus Capital and Investment Corp. as the offer’s underwriter. Proceeds of the issuance will be used to fund the prepayment of an existing loan.

The nickel company earlier said that it is hopeful that 2018 will be a better year for the mining industry, following the government’s crackdown on miners in 2017.

FNI, formerly known as Platinum Group Metals Corp., was listed at the stock exchange via backdoor listing with Southeast Asia Cement Holdings, Inc. serving as the vehicle. FNI is the second largest nickel producer in the country, and the largest single lateritic mine exporter in the world.

Last November, FNI entered into an agreement with Vi Holding, LLC for the implementation of joint business projects in the processing of lateritic ores.

The nickel firm recorded a net loss attributable to the parent of P164.77 million during the first three months of 2018, higher than its net loss of P118.02 million in the same period a year ago.

Shares in FNI went down 5.36% or 12 centavos to close at P2.12 each at the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday. —