Evolution Mining has completed a $525 million fully underwritten placement to support its acquisition of an 80 per cent stake in the Northparkes copper-gold mine in New South Wales.
The company will issue 138.2 million new fully paid Evolution shares to institutional investors at a price of $3.80 per share.
“We are pleased to see our shareholders and new investors are in support of the placement and our acquisition of Northparkes,” Evolution executive chairman Jake Klein said.
“Northparkes is a reliable, well-established, long-life copper and gold operation that fits well with our strategy of targeting a highly concentrated portfolio of up to eight quality assets.
“As a cash-flow generating asset from day one, the acquisition of Northparkes is aligned to our deleveraging strategy and positions Evolution to continue its track record of delivering strong shareholder returns.”
Part of the funds will go towards the Northparkes transaction, which comprises a cash consideration of up to $475 million.
Completion of the transaction is expected to occur before the end of December.
The Northparkes mine has been in operation since 1994 and made a name for itself as the first mine to use the block cave mining method in Australia.
The transaction aims to diversify Evolution’s portfolio and increase its exposure to copper, which the company expects will provide up to 30 per cent of its revenue in the 2023–24 financial year.
Settlement of the placement is expected to occur on Friday December 8, with the new shares to be issued and commence trading on the ASX on Monday December 11.
The new shares will rank equally with Evolution’s existing shares with effect from their issue date.
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