THIS PRESS RELEASE MAY NOT BE MADE PUBLIC, PUBLISHED OR DISTRIBUTED, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO AUSTRALIA, HONG KONG, JAPAN, CANADA, NEW ZEALAND, SWITZERLAND, SINGAPORE, SOUTH AFRICA, THE UNITED STATES OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH ACTIONS, WHOLLY OR IN PART, WOULD BE UNLAWFUL. THIS PRESS RELEASE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER TO BUY SECURITIES IN AKOBO MINERALS AB (PUBL). SEE ALSO THE SECTION “IMPORTANT INFORMATION” BELOW IN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.
Oslo, Norway – 13 March 2024 – Reference is made to the stock exchange announcement published by Akobo Minerals AB (publ) (the “Company“) on 27 February 2024, in which the Company announced a subsequent rights issue (the “Subsequent Rights Issue“) of up to 28,346,785 new shares in the Company (the “New Shares“), each with a quota value of SEK 0.0371599322777818, at a subscription price of NOK 1 per New Share (the ʺSubscription Priceʺ). In aggregate, 53,150,223 subscription rights (the “Subscription Rights“) have been issued, whereby fifteen (15) Subscription Rights gives the right to subscribe for eight (8) New Shares.
Reference is further made to the stock exchange announcement published by the Company on 12 March 2024, in which the Company announced that the national prospectus pertaining to the Subsequent Rights Issue (the “Prospectus“) has been registered with the Norwegian Register of Business Enterprises (Norwegian: Foretaksregisteret). The Prospectus is available electronically at the Company’s website: akobominerals.com.
Eligibility
Shareholders in the Company as of 5 March 2024 (as registered with Euroclear Sweden AB (“Euroclear“) and in the Norwegian Central Securities Depository (the “VPS“) two trading days thereafter, on 7 March 2024 (the “Record Date“)) (the “Eligible Shareholders“), have received one (1) Subscription Right for each share held by such Eligible Shareholder in the Company as of the Record Date.
Subscription Rights of Eligible Shareholders resident in jurisdictions where the Prospectus may not be distributed and/or with legislation that, according to the Company’s assessment, prohibits or otherwise restricts subscription for New Shares (the ʺIneligible Shareholdersʺ) have initially been credited to such Ineligible Shareholdersʹ VPS accounts. Such credit specifically does not constitute an offer to Ineligible Shareholders to subscribe for New Shares. The Company has instructed the Manager (as defined below) to, as far as possible, withdraw the Subscription Rights from such Ineligible Shareholdersʹ VPS accounts with no compensation to the holder.
Subscription Rights
Fifteen (15) Subscription Rights will, subject to applicable securities laws, give the preferential right to subscribe for, and be allocated, eight (8) New Shares at the Subscription Price. Subscription without Subscription Rights will be permitted; however, there can be no assurance that New Shares will be allocated for such subscriptions.
For a description of the allocation, subscription, and payment and delivery procedures, please refer to sections 4.9, 4.11, and 4.14 of the Prospectus.
Subscription Period
The subscription period in the Subsequent Rights Issue will commence at 09:00 hours (CET) today, 13 March 2024, and expire at 13:00 hours (CET) on 27 March 2024.
Trading in the Subscription Rights
The Subscription Rights will be listed and tradable on Euronext Growth Oslo under the ticker ‘AKOBT’ from 09:00 hours (CET) today, 13 March 2024, to 16:30 hours (CET) on 21 March 2024. Subscription Rights that are not used to subscribe for New Shares or sold before the expiry of the Subscription Period will have no value and lapse without compensation to the holder. The Subscription Rights may have economic value if the Company’s shares trade above the Subscription Price during the Subscription Period.
Subscription Price
The Subscription Price in the Subsequent Rights Issue is NOK 1 per New Share.
For subscribers whose Subscription Rights are held in Euroclear, the Subscription Price has been converted to SEK based on the European Central Bank’s NOK/SEK conversion rate as of 26 February 2024. The Subscription Price has accordingly been determined to SEK 0.98.
Conditions for completion of the Subsequent Rights Issue
The completion of the Subsequent Rights Issue is subject to the board of directors of the Company resolving to approve the Subsequent Rights Issue and issue the New Shares. Delivery of the New Shares (or conversion of Paid Subscribed Shares (Sw. betalda tecknade aktier) to New Shares, as the case may be) to subscribers is subject to, (i) the New Shares being duly paid by the subscribers, (ii) registration of the share capital increase pertaining to the Subsequent Rights Issue with the Swedish Companies Registration Office, and (iii) issuance and delivery of the New Shares to the subscribers in the VPS.
Financial intermediaries
If an Eligible Shareholder holds shares in the Company registered through a financial intermediary on the Record Date, the financial intermediary will customarily give the Eligible Shareholder details of the aggregate number of Subscription Rights to which it is entitled. The relevant financial intermediary will customarily supply each Eligible Shareholder with this information in accordance with its usual customer relations procedures. Eligible Shareholders holding Shares through a financial intermediary should contact the financial intermediary if they have received no information with respect to the Subsequent Rights Issue.
Listing and commencement of trading in the New Shares
The New Shares will be admitted to trading on Euronext Growth Oslo (under ticker ‘AKOBO’) as soon as the share capital increase pertaining to the Subsequent Rights Issue has been registered with the Swedish Companies Registration Office and the New Shares have been registered and delivered to the VPS accounts of the subscribers to whom they are allocated. The first day of trading of the issued New Shares is expected to take place on or about 22 April 2024.
Advisors
SpareBank 1 Markets acts as manger in the Subsequent Rights Issue (the “Manager“).
Advokatfirmaet Schjødt AS acts as the Company’s legal adviser in connection with the Subsequent Rights Issue.
For further details of the terms of the Subsequent Rights Issue, please refer to the Prospectus.
This information is published in accordance with the requirements of the Continuing Obligations for issuers listed on Euronext Growth Oslo.
For further information, contact:
Jørgen Evjen, CEO, Akobo Minerals
Mob: (+47) 92 80 40 14
Mail: jorgen@akobominerals.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/akobominerals
Web: www.akobominerals.com
About Akobo Minerals
Akobo Minerals is a Scandinavian-based gold exploration and boutique mining company, currently holding an exploration license covering 182 km2 and a mining license covering 16 km2 in the Gambela region and Dima Woreda, Ethiopia. The company has established itself as the leading gold exploration company in Ethiopia through more than 13 years of on-the-ground activity, which has now been enhanced further with the development of its Segele mine.
Akobo Minerals’ Segele mine has an Inferred and Indicated Mineral Resource of 68,000 ounces, yielding a world-class gold grade of 22.7 g/ton. Still open to depth, the gold mineralised zone continues to expand and will have a positive impact on future resource estimates and the life expectancy of the mine. The exploration license holds numerous promising exploration resource-building prospects in both the vicinity of Segele and in the wider license area.
Akobo Minerals has an excellent relationship with local communities all the way up to national authorities and the company places environment and social governance (ESG) at the heart of its activities – as demonstrated by a planned, industry-leading, extended shared value program.
Akobo Minerals has built a strong local foothold based on the principles of sound ethics, transparency and communication, and is ready to take on new opportunities and ventures as they arise. The company is uniquely positioned to become a major player in the future development of the very promising Ethiopian mining industry. The company is headquartered in Oslo and is publicly listed on the Euronext Growth Oslo Exchange and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol AKOBO. For US investors, Akobo Minerals AB (OTCQX: AKOBF) is traded on the OTCQX Best Market, adhering to high financial standards, best practice corporate governance, and compliance with U.S. securities laws. Additionally, the company has a professional third-party sponsor introduction, and investors can access current financial disclosures and Real-Time Level 2 quotes for the company on www.otcmarkets.com.
Akobo Minerals places great emphasis on meeting and exceeding industry standards, fully complying with all aspects of the JORC code, 2012. For detailed information on their adherence to this code, please refer to https://www.jorc.org/. Akobo Minerals’ unwavering commitment to ethical practices, community engagement, and environmental responsibility positions them as a formidable force in the evolving landscape of the Ethiopian mining sector.
Important information
Publication, release or distribution of this press release may in certain jurisdictions be subject to legal restrictions and persons in the jurisdictions where this press release has been made public or distributed should be informed of and follow such legal restrictions. The recipient of this press release is responsible for using this press release and the information herein in accordance with applicable rules in each jurisdiction. This press release does not constitute an offer or solicitation to buy or subscribe for any securities in Akobo Minerals AB (publ) in any jurisdiction, either from Akobo Minerals AB (publ) or from anyone else.
This press release is not a prospectus according to the definition in Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 (“the Prospectus Regulation”) and has not been approved by any regulatory authority in any jurisdiction. A national prospectus has been prepared by the Company and published on the Company’s website.
This press release does not constitute an offer or solicitation to buy or subscribe for securities in the United States. The securities mentioned herein may not be sold in the United States without registration, or without an exemption from registration, under the U.S. Securities Act from 1933 (“Securities Act”), and may not be offered or sold within the United States without being registered, covered by an exemption from, or part of a transaction that is not subject to the registration requirements according to the Securities Act. There is no intention to register any securities mentioned herein in the United States or to issue a public offering of such securities in the United States. The information in this press release may not be released, published, copied, reproduced or distributed, directly or indirectly, wholly or in part, in or to Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, Switzerland, Singapore, South Africa, the United States or any other jurisdiction where the release, publication or distribution of this information would violate current rules or where such an action is subject to legal restrictions or would require additional registration or other measures beyond those that follow from Swedish and Norwegian law. Actions in contravention of this instruction may constitute a violation of applicable securities legislation.
