Mining company Metminco (LSE:MNC) has confirmed that it will de-list from AIM later this month, putting the move down to a lack of funding success among UK investors and weak liquidity on the London market. The formerly dual-listed firm, which owns the rights to numerous exploration targets in Columbia, will now trade solely on the Australian Securities Exchange.
Metminco was suspended from AIM in September when it revealed plans to announce a proposed capital raising and acquisition constituting a reverse takeover under AIM rules. This gave the company six months from theday of its suspension to publish an AIM admission document and gain approval for the RTO from shareholders at a general meeting.
Several days later, the business announced that it would acquire a potential direct shipping nickel laterite project called Jejevo in the Solomon Islands. To fund the development of the project, it also announced plans to carry out a placement and rights issue to raise $3m.
However, the placing was carried out in Australia, with the firm announcing that it would no longer trade in the UK to streamline its listing, cut costs and protect shareholder interests.
Among the more specific reasons given, Metminco cited meagreholdings on AIM. At the time, UK Depositary Interests (DIs) held fewer than 6pc of its shares. Alongside this, it also mentioned limited trading and liquidity on AIM, a lack of success in attracting significant funding out of the UK, and high marketing and compliance costs that could be used better elsewhere. Finally, it said it did not feel that publishing a full circular to shareholders and seeking their approval, as it would have to under AIM’s RTO rules, would be in the interests of the business or its shareholders.
‘The board believes that the burdens and risks of the company’s current admission to trading on AIM outweigh the benefits and that, accordingly, it would be in the best interests of the company and shareholders as a whole if the company’s admission to trading on AIM were cancelled,’ it added.
In today’s update, Metminco confirmed these plans and laid out steps for existing UK investors to take ahead of de-listing.
UK shareholders will be required to withdraw their Metminco shareholding from CREST and register their holdings with Metminco’s Australian registry, which is called Link. British investors can voluntarily request the re-assignment of their holding until 25 October this year via their broker. After this point, the balance of their holdings will be automatically moved to Link on a 1:1 basis. Once their stock has transferred, UK shareholders will be able to trade on the ASX.
More details on what Metminco’s UK shareholders will have to do now can be found here.