Aminex slips after share placing plan

Aminex, the listed Irish oil and gas explorer with operations in Africa, fell 14 per cent in London yesterday after it announced…

Aminex, the listed Irish oil and gas explorer with operations in Africa, fell 14 per cent in London yesterday after it announced plans for a significant share placing to raise almost £9 million (€10.3 million). The placing and open share offer to investors is to help fund exploration in Tanzania, it said. Aminex hopes to raise £6.9 through a placing of over 116 million new ordinary shares for a nominal value of six pence each, accounting for approximately 47 per cent of the company’s issued share capital.

The open offer involves 30 million shares to be issued on a “one-for-eight” basis with a nominal value of six pence, with the company saying the amount raised will not exceed £1.8 million. Shares purchased as part of the placing will not carry entitlements to the open offer.

The offer represents a discount of 25 per cent on the share’s closing price on Monday, when it closed at eight pence. Yesterday, the shares ended the day at seven pence.