Australian copper miner 29Metals launches $471m IPO

29Metals’ Capricorn copper mine in Australia (Credit: 29Metals)

Australian copper miner 29Metals and its shareholders are seeking to raise as much as A$609.1 million ($471-million) in an initial public offering (IPO) in Sydney, potentially marking the country’s second-largest listing to date this year.

The company plans to issue A$245 million worth of new stock while current shareholders including EMR Capital Advisors are offering as much as A$364.1 million of existing shares, according to terms of the deal obtained on Monday by Bloomberg News.

The listing could revive a strong start to the year for IPOs in the country, where three prospective offerings potentially worth almost A$900-million were recently withdrawn.

29Metals’ assets include the Golden Grove copper mine and Capricorn Copper, both in Australia, and Redhill in Chile

A hopeful sign for the market came Friday when Link Administration Holdings forged ahead with a A$1.18 billion listing plan for its unit Torrens Group Holdings, despite fielding a private equity offer for the business.

Existing shareholders will own about 45% of 29Metals after the IPO, the terms show. The company is set to start taking investor orders on Friday and to begin trading on the Australian Securities Exchange on June 23.

29Metals’ assets include the Golden Grove copper mine and Capricorn Copper, both in Australia, and Redhill in Chile, according to its website.

The offering comes after spot copper prices touched their highest in almost a decade last month, as investors focus on commodities critical to stimulus-driven infrastructure building and the green-energy transition. 29Metals also joins a tide of resources IPOs in Sydney that have succeeded despite the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Australian market outshone other major capital markets for mining including Toronto and London by the number of offerings in the past 12 months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

(By Harry Brumpton)

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