True North Copper (ASX:TNC) could resume trading on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) before Christmas after administrators KordaMentha announced an equity recapitalisation, meaning the sale process will now cease.
KordaMentha has been running a dual-track equity recapitalisation and sale process for True North after Richard Tucker and Tony Miskiewicz were appointed voluntary administrators on 21 October, as reported by Mining.com.au.
Run jointly by Canaccord Genuity (Australia) and Morgans Corporate, the proposed equity raise will enable the companies to restructure and repay their debt and creditor positions and set a new direction for growth, according to KordaMentha.
Once the recapitalisation is complete, True North is expected to relist on the ASX with a new board of directors and no debt.
Administrator Richard Tucker says the opportunity for a capital raise reflected the underlying value of the company’s assets – the ‘mine ready’ Cloncurry copper-gold project, and the ‘high-grade’ copper-silver-cobalt Mt Oxide project, both with considerable development and exploration potential.
In a statement to the ASX on 22 October, True North said it decided to enter administration after a period of extensive negotiations with its debt provider Nebari Natural Resources Credit Fund II, largest shareholder Tembo Capital Holdings UK, and other potential equity providers.
It is understood Nebari called in breaches of some debt covenants and was unable to come to an agreement with True North’s largest shareholder Tembo Capital regarding an injection of funds that would have helped the company satisfy all conditions to draw down tranche two of the Nebari debt facility.
The move to appoint KordaMentha came four months after major Australian resources investor Regal Funds Management increased its stake in True North Copper to 14.07%.
Regal took a greater interest in June with the acquisition of a further 53.6 million shares for $3 million. The resources investor became a substantial shareholder earlier in June after picking up an initial 10.2% stake.
Media speculation suggests the equity recapitalisation is valued at $60 million.
Write to Adam Orlando at Mining.com.au
Images: True North Copper
