Key points
- Anglo American exercised its anti-dilution right under the original Oct. 20, 2006 subscription agreement to increase its Nautilus stake.
- The subscription will bring Anglo American’s total holding to 17,267,036 common shares, representing 11.1 percent of Nautilus.
- Shares will be issued at $1.33 (5,177,066 shares) and $1.46 (3,756,636 shares), priced on the volume weighted average price over October 2008.
- The subscription is expected to complete Nov. 10, 2008, subject to Toronto Stock Exchange approval, with proceeds used to finance development of Nautilus’s business.
A wholly owned subsidiary of Anglo American PLC will subscribe for an additional 8,933,702 common shares in Nautilus Minerals Inc. to increase its equity stake in Nautilus from 5.7 per cent to 11.1 per cent. Anglo American has elected to exercise, in full, the anti-dilution right granted to it in its original subscription agreement dated Oct. 20, 2006, the terms of which were negotiated at the time of the original subscription.
Stephen Rogers, Nautilus’s chief executive officer, commented: “Purchasing additional shares in the current market, demonstrates the belief Anglo American has in, not only Nautilus, but the emerging seafloor mining industry. Nautilus is looking forward to continuing to work with Anglo American and our other strategic investors as we move towards production in 2010.”
Brian Beamish, chief executive officer of Base Metals at Anglo American, commented: “Anglo American has monitored Nautilus’s progress closely over the last two years. We remain supportive of this deepwater initiative in the base metals sector.”
Under the agreement, Anglo American received a one-off right to increase its holding to 11.1 per cent of the company’s common shares. The right would have expired on Oct. 31, 2008, if Anglo American had not elected to exercise this right. The subscription will take Anglo American’s total shareholding to 17,267,036, representing 11.1 per cent of the company’s common shares. The agreed price of the issue is based on a formula linked to the volume weighted average price of Nautilus’s common shares over the month of October, 2008, and will result in 5,177,066 shares being issued at $1.33 and 3,756,636 shares being issued at $1.46. Total funds expected to be received are approximately $12.4-million.
The proceeds of the subscription will be used to finance development of Nautilus’s business. The subscription is expected to complete on Nov. 10, 2008, and is subject to final regulatory approval by the Toronto Stock Exchange.
