off-the-wire

UPDATE 1-Indonesia nickel company Merdeka Battery Materials plans $580 mln IPO

Kitco Media
By Reuters
Published:
Updated:
Reuters
(Adds details) JAKARTA, March 28 (Reuters) - Indonesian nickel company Merdeka Battery Materials, a unit of Merdeka Copper Gold plans to raise up to 8.745 trillion rupiah ($580.29 million) in an initial public offering in April, a prospectus published on Tuesday showed. It will be the second nickel firm in Indonesia to go public this year after PT Trimegah Bangun Persada of the Harita conglomerate group, as the nickel-rich country's ramps up efforts to be a major player in the electric vehicle industry.



The company plans to sell 10.24% shares in the IPO at 780 to 795 rupiah a piece in the offering set for April 12-14. However, an additional 1.01% shares could be issued in case of oversubscription, which could put the value of the IPO at a total of 9.619 trillion rupiah, according to the prospectus reviewed by Reuters. The firm plans to use proceeds from the IPO to repay $300 million in outstanding loans, on capital expenditure and working capital.


The proceeds will also be used to develop the first phase of a high pressure acid leach (HPAL) plant with a capacity of 60,000 tonnes per year. The company signed an MoU regarding the plant with Ningbo Brunp Contemporary Amperex Co.Ltd earlier this month.
($1 = 15,070.0000 rupiah) (Reporting by Bernadette Christina; Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor)

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.