Shame file: stand alone placements with no SPP

Acrow Formwork and Construction Services (ACF), 2020: As announced to the ASX, the company raised $10.5 million in a placement priced at 38c, an excessive 11 per cent discount to the prevailing market price. There was no follow up SPP for retail.

Adriatic Metals (ADT), 2023: the dual listed silver miner in Bosnia and Serbia raised $US32 million in a placement at $3.30, matching the previous close. No SPP for retail shareholders.

Adriatic Metals (ADT), May 2024: The AFR's Street Talk column was given the scoop over the weekend by the $1.38b UK dual listed company. The details landed on the Monday and it comprised a $75.8m placement at $4.15, a 5.7% discount to the Friday close of $4.40. The funds are needed to pay a nearly $20m termination fee to the previous mining contractor and to ramp up production at its Vares "lead, zinc, silver, gold, copper, barite" and kitchen sinks project in Bosnia. No sign of an SPP for retail holders and the guilty party advisers are Macquarie, Canaccord and Morgans.

Alpha HPA (A4N): joined the placement only shame file with a $40 million placement at 73c in November 2023 with no follow up SPP. Market cap was $760m by February 2024 when the stock was at 91c. Failed to offer a hybrid AGM in November 2023.

Alumina (AWC), 2013: placed a 15% stake to Chinese company CITIC at a 3% premium of $1.235 with no follow on SPP or access to any institutional investor either.

Amaero (3DA), September 2024: the US-focused additives producer did a $25m placement at 35c, a 4% discount to the previous close, with no sign of an SPP for retail. $19.6m was unconditional in tranche 1 and the balance of $5.4 million will be approved at the upcoming AGM.

Andean Silver (ASL), September 2024: $25m placement at $1.05, a 10% discount to the last close of $1.17, with no follow up SPP for retail shareholders.

Anteris Technologies (AVR), July 2024: the heart medtech launched a $30 million placement through The AFR's Street Talk column which was priced at $16, a 6.2% discount to the last close of $17.05. Cannacord, Evolution Capital and Bell Potter shared an excessive 6% fee and there was no SPP for retail investors.

Aquila Resources, 2009: Chinese steel giant Baosteel to invest up to $286 million for a 15% stake in the company through a placement at $6.50 a share.

Arafura Resources (ARU), June 2020: raised $7m though a placement at 6.2c with no SPP but subsequently did a $40 million placement the following year which did have an SPP component but it was restricted to $5.5m despite $16m coming through the door.

Arizona Lithium (AZL), March 2022: $32.5 million placement at 12.5c with no SPP for retail shareholders. Previous close was 15c but stock rose to 16c on the morning after the raise, so placement participants are well in front but 7,500 retail shareholders have been diluted.

Astral Resources (AAR), September 2024: The Perth-based company is pursuing two separate gold projects south of Kalgoorlie and completed a $25m two-stage placement at 9.5c with no follow on SPP for the 2,100 retail holders. The first tranche was $21m with the second $4m tranche subject to shareholder approval at the November 20 AGM. Euroz Hartleys and Cannacaord Genuity were brokers to the offer, shafting retail investors yet again.

Ausgold (AUC), June 2024: the Perth-based gold miner completed the $14 million first component of a 2-stage $38 million placement on June 14. The pricing was 3c, a 14.3% discount to the previous close of 3.5c, and the remaining $24 million will be approved at an EGM in July. No sign of any SPP for retail investors.

Auteco Minerals (AUT), 2022: did a $20 million placement at 8c to advance its Canadian gold project but failed to offer retail shareholders the same opportunity. Was priced at a hefty 13% discount to the previous close. The offending brokers were Cannacord Genuity and Shaw.

AVZ Minerals (AVZ), December 2021: Perth-based African lithium aspirant did a $75 million placement at 50c with no follow-through SPP for retail.

Bannerman Resources (BMN), June 2024: The AFR got the drop on the proposed $76m placement at $3.30, a 7.6% discount to the last close of $3.58. It finished up being expanded to $85m with $9.3m subject to shareholder approval. No sign of any SPP for retail investors. JP Morgan and Euro Hartleys were responsible. The stock tumbled as much as 10% on resuming when it hit a low of $3.23.

Black Cat Syndicate (BC8): April 2022: completed a $35 million two stage placement at 55c, a steep discount to the previous close of 68c, to fund a gold acquisition but no sign of any SPP for retail even though some directors are topping up their investments.

Black Cat Syndicate (BC8): June 2024: announced a two-stage $36m placement at 27c to fund the restart of its Paulsens gold mine in WA. The pricing was a hefty 21.7% discount to the previous close of 34.5c, something the ASX announcement didn't even mention. The first stage raised $20.4m and the $15.6m second stage requires shareholder approval at an EGM on July 23, 2024. The directors have also got their hand out for cheap placement stock but no sign of an SPP for retail investors. The shares resumed trading on June 4 at around 30c, providing an instant 10% windfall to the lucky placement recipients.

Bluebet (BBT), April 2024: completed a $20m placement at 21c ahead of merger with Betr. Insider Matt Tripp took 10% of the placement, which is partly subject to an EGM in late May. No sign of any SPP for long suffering retail holders.

Brazilian Rare Earths (BRE), June 2024: The AFR's Street Talk column got the drop on the $66m placement at $3.30, a 9.6% discount to the last close of $3.65. The company then expanded the raising to $80m and the stock tumbled 31c to $3.34 when trading resumed on June 13. No sign of any SPP for retail investors.

Brightstar Resources (BTR), August 2024: completed a $24m placement at 1.5c as part of a takeover of minnow Alto Metals to consolidate its expansion prospects around its existing gold mining project. No sign of an SPP for retail holders.

Capricorn Metals: (CMM), 2020: $32.3m placement at $1.90, a 7.8% discount to the previous close with the placement comprising 4.9% of issued capitals. Funds needed for gold project expansion. Mayor shareholder Hawke's Point also sold down from 16.7% to 10% at the same price. No accompanying SPP so retail badly shafted.

Capricorn Metals (CMM), 2024: $200m placement at $6 a share, a 4.9% discount to the previous close of $6.39, with no follow-on SPP so have been added to this “placement only shame file”.

Carnarvon Petroleum (CVN), 2022: $70 million insto placement at 30c with no follow through SPP for retail investors. Previous close was 33c and this was close to maximum 15% allowable under the placement cap.

Centuria Industrial REIT (CIP), 2020: announced a $125 million placement at $3.06 to fund some cold storage assets but failed to offer retail shareholders an SPP.

Chalice Gold, 2020: announced a $30 million placement with no follow on SPP.

Commonwealth Bank (CBA), 2008: $2 billion raised through institutional placement at $38 a share in October 2008 to fund BankWest acquisition with no accompanying SPP.

Core Lithium (CXO), 2022: announced a $100m selective placement but no sign of any SPP for retail shareholders to participate on the same terms. Was priced at $1.03, a 6.8% discount to the previous close of $1.105.

De Grey Mining (DEG) September 2020: $100 million placement at $1.20 in September 2020, a 16.4% discount to the previous close, with no SPP offered for retail holders.

De Grey Mining (DEG): April 2020: $31.2 million placement at 28c on April 28, 2020, which also offered no SPP. Two separate placements with no SPP in 5 months. This is deliberate dilution of retail holders.

De Grey Mining (DEG), September 2023: $300m two stage placement at $1.05, a 5.8% discount to the previous close of $1.115 with no sign of any retail offer.

Dimerix (DXB), March 2024: the Melbourne-based kidney disease remedy company completed a $20m placement to the big end of town at a zero discount of 30c but failed to follow through with an SPP for retail holders to participate on the same terms.

Droneshield (DRO), August 2024: The AFR's Street Talk column was leaked details of a $120m raising on Wednesday morning and the details dropped on the ASX on the morning of Thursday, August 1. The pricing was $1.15, a circa 17.5% discount to the last close of $1.40, and the stock promptly tumbled to $1.16. It peaked at $2.50 in July 2024. There is no SPP for retail.

5G Networks (5GN), 2020: $30 million placement at $1.85 with CEO Joe Demase also selling 3m shares or 15% of his stake for $5.5 million. No accompanying SPP which is disappointing. Stock finished the year at $1.42 so investors underwater.

FBR (FBR): August 2024: the robotic technology company completed a $12.5m selective placement at a 20% discount and failed to offer retail investors the same deal through an SPP. Typical Perth-based cowboys.

Fortescue Metals (FMG), 2009: placed 17.4% of the company with the Chinese Government at $2.48 a share raising $645 million in March 2009 but still hasn't offered the same deal to its loyal but unloved retail shareholders.

Frontier Energy (FHE), September 2024: announced firm commitments for a $40m placement at 25c with no plans for a follow-on SPP from the Perth-based Mark McGowan chaired aspiring renewables company. The first $16.8m tranche is unconditional whilst the second $23.2m tranche requires shareholder approval at an EGM scheduled for October. The pricing was a massive discount to the 46c closing price referenced in this AFR Street Talk column leaked ahead of time. The stock had crashed to 23c by September 4, partly due to this disappointing last day of the season $3.3m half year loss.

GenusPlus Group (GNP), 2022: raised $20 million in a placement at $1.21, a 10 per cent discount to the previous close, but failed to offer retail an SPP. The offending brokers were Bell Potters and Hartleys.

Hastings Technology Metals (HAS), 2022: $40 million placement to fund manager L1 Capital at 25c with no follow through SPP for retail investors. This lifts L1's stake to 15.5%. The previous close was 26c, so the discount was 5.7%.

HMC Capital (HMC), October 2024: completed a $300m placement at $8.75, a 5% discount to the previous close of $9.21, to support its new data centres fund after it paid almost $2 billion for a single site in Sydney. No follow-on SPP so have been added to this “placement only shame file”.

Iluka Resources, (ILU), 2009: did a $114 million placement at $3 a share in May 2009 but failed to deliver retail investors an SPP.

Imricor Medical Systems (IMR), July 2024: raised $35 million through a two-stage placement at 52c to see it through to US FDA approvals for its drug which helps treat irregular heart beats. Was priced at an 11.9% discount to the last close of as structured as a placement priced at 52¢ per share, an 11.9 per cent discount to the last close of 59c. The first tranche of $26.4 million is done with the balance of $8.6m to be approved at an EGM. No sign of an SPP so have been added to this “placement only shame file”.

Intelligent Monitoring Group (IMB), 2024: joins the "no SPP shame file" with a $19.3m placement to the big end of town to fund 2 acquisitions. No surprise they are based in Perth, the epi-centre of poor governance and retail shareholder rip-offs.

IperionX (IPX), November 2023: the aspiring US titanium producer completed a $26.3m placement at $1.25 with no follow-up SPP for retail holders.

IperionX (IPX), May 2024: completed a $50m placement at $1.91 with no follow up SPP for retail holders. Bell Potter and Cannacord assisted.

Latin Resources (LRS), April 2022: aspiring Perth-based Brazilian lithium player joined the retail rip off club with a $35m insto placement at 16c but no opportunity for mums and dads to participate through a Share Purchase Plan.

Lend Lease (LLC), 2009: completed a $300 million institutional placement on February 4, 2009 at $6.05 a share to strengthen the balance sheet but the shares then tanked to a 20-year low of $5.50 so they abandoned the SPP for retail investors because there was no VWAP pricing alternative.

Lindian Resources (LIN), 2023: $35m selective placement at 33c to help fund its rare earths project in Malawi. No sign of a Share Purchase Plan for its loyal but neglected retail shareholders who should be able to participate on the same terms. Was managed by Perth-based Euroz Hartley and announcement made reference to $15m being allocated via a "chairman's list". Stock last traded at 41.5c before the trading halt so executive chairman Asimwe Kabunga was dishing out plenty of value whilst shafting retail shareholders.

Macquarie Technology Group (MAQ), April 2024: $100m two-stage placement at $72.50 to fund data centre acquisitions, priced at a 6.1% discount to the previous close of $77.21. No sign of any SPP for the disregarded 4000 retail shareholders. EGM for the majority of the placement scheduled for May.

Megaport, 2019: In December 2019 it did a $62m placement at $8.70 (a 4.8% discount) with no follow on SPP at all.

Mesoblast (MSB), 2023: $US42.8 million placement at 85c, a hefty discount to the previous close of 99c, with no follow on SPP for retail holders. The main ASX announcement failed to mention the discount or the $US2.8m in costs which were disclosed in this ASX pro-forma. Stock crashed to 88c the next day.

Mesoblast (MSB), 2020: completed a $138 million placement at $3.20 a share, a 7% discount, on May 13 2020 but no sign of any follow-on SPP.

Mesoblast (MSB), 2019: The company's 13,000 retail shareholders were excluded from a $75 million placement in 2019.

Metals Acquisition Ltd (MAC), Oct 2024: the dual listed US focused copper miner did a $140m placement of CDIs at $18, a 13% discount to the previous close of $20.70 with no sign of any SPP for retail holders. Barrenjoey was the sole under-writer. The raising was to reduce debt which peaked at $US455m after an earlier acquisition.

Metrics Income Opportunities Trust (MOT), May 2024: The AFR's Street Talk column got the drop on this credit fund which had hired a big broker syndicate (Taylor Collinson, E&P, Ord Minnett, Morgans and Cannacord Genuity) to raise up to $92 million, making the most of its annual placement capacity. The figure ended up being $92.4 million and it was priced at $2.14. No sign of any SPP for retail investors. Market cap now exceeds $700 million and with more than 7,000 holders, it's time this outfit started holding AGMs, where the lack of any SPP could be raised.

Minrex (MRR), April 2022: Perth-based lithium wannabe raised $13.5m in a selective placement from various un-named mining executives and other big end of town types but there was no SPP for retail investors.

Open Pay (OPY), 2020: $33.7 million placement at $2.40, a 9.8% premium to the previous close. No SPP offer for retail investors but at least the placement was a premium. Stock finished the year at $2.26 so investors are slightly underwater.

Patriot Battery Metals (PMT), May 2024: The AFR broke the story of the $44m raise, which amounted to a $C75m placement at $C14.54, which it claimed was a 51% premium to the last close. Funds will be used to advance its Canadian lithium project and raising is tapping into Canadian investment credits for exploration companies. The complicated multi-jurisdiction raise is priced at A85c in Australian terms, when the last trade was 90c giving it a market cap of $665m. No sign of any SPP for Australian investors.

Predictive Discovery (PDI), May 2024: $50m placement at 19c, a 9.5% discount to the previous close of 21c. Cash is needed for its Bankan Gold Project in the West African country of Guinea. No sign of any SPP for retail investors.

Primary Healthcare, 2007: raised $184.5 million through an institutional placement at $11.90 a pop on November 9, 2007 with no SPP for retail.

PSC Insurance (PSI): raised $55 million through a placement at $3 in October 2017 with no follow-up SPP for retail. Was managed by Bell Potter.

Qoria Ltd (QOR), September 2024: the emerging tech company did a $30m placement at 37.2c, a 4.6% discount to the previous close of 39c, to fund an acquisition and is now capitalised at almost $500. No sign of an SPP.

Red 5 Mining (RED), 2020: The Perth-based gold miner did a $125 million placement at 18c with no SPP for retail shareholders. This comprised 55.8% of pre-raising capital and therefore needed shareholder approval. Was priced at a 23.4% discount to the last price and the stock was at 21c in mid May so the existing 4800 retail shareholders have been diluted without compensation. Stock finished the year at 26c so investors are well in front.

Red Dirt Metals (RDT), 2022: did a $22 million placement to two offshore specialist resource funds as it pursues a lithium-gold project. The raising was priced at 51c, a 5.6 per cent discount to the previous close, and the broker involved was Cannacord Genuity.

Renergen (RLT), 2022: raised just over $10m at $2.14 in a dual placement to Australian and South African institutions with no accompanying SPP for retail investors. Stock was down at 75c by July 2024.

Rex Minerals (RXM), 2021: announced a $50 million placement at 30c, a 16.6% discount to the previous close, but then failed to follow through with an SPP on the same terms for retail shareholders. Macquarie and Euro Hartley were the overpaid advisers complicit with diluting retail investors.

Santos (STO), 2010: $500 million placement at $12.55 in December 2010 with no SPP at all, leading to a board tilt by Stephen Mayne.

Sayona Mining (SYA), 2023: $200m placement at 18c, a 14.3% discount to the previous close of 21c, to pursue Canadian and WA lithium projects. No SPP for retail and EGM required to approve final $31m of the placement.

Strandline Resources (STA), April 2022: $50 million placement at 43c with no accompanying SPP for retail shareholders.

St George Mining (SGQ), August 2024: The AFR's Street Talk column got the drop on a $21.5m raise to fund a Brazilian rare earths project near the world's biggest niobium mine. The placement was priced at 2.5c with $2.5m being done up front and the remaining $19m subject to shareholder approval. No sign of any SPP for retail investors. The under-writer GBA Capital is getting a 6% cash fee plus 20m free options to buy shares at 5c over the next 3 years.

Talga Group (TLG), February 2023: the emerging battery materials company raised $40 million through a placement managed by Euroz at $1.55, an 11.5% discount to the previous close of $1.75. Disgracefully there was no follow-up SPP for the company's 12,000 retail holders. There will be a physical only EGM on May 15 to refresh the placement capacity and appoint EY as auditor. See notice of meeting.

Tempest Minerals (TEM), April 2022: another day, another dodgy capital raising from a Perth-based miner. They raised $8.4m in a placement to the big end of town, but there was no SPP for retail investors.

Temple & Webster (TPW), 2020: a $40 million placement at $5.70, a 9.7% discount to the last close of $6.31. No wonder it talked about heavy demand. Very disappointing to not have any form of follow-up SPP for retail investors. Stock was at $7.60 in early July so clear lost value and dilution for retail investors who are still waiting for their SPP. Stock finished the year at $11.07 so a boomer for all placement participants.

Ten Network Holdings, 2009: a $138 million placement at $1.15 with no SPP for retail investors, leading to a board tilt by Stephen Mayne.

Tietto Minerals (TIE), March 2022: Another capital raising shocker out of Perth as aspiring West African gold miner Tietto Minerals announces a two stage $130m placement to the big end of town whilst refusing to let retail investors participate through an SPP. Placement priced at 14.5% discount of 50c and second tranche is subject to shareholder approval.

Turaco Gold (TCG), May 2024: an $18m placement from Turaco Gold to the big end of town in May 2024 but no Share Purchase Plan for its thousands of retail shareholders to participate on the same terms.

Turaco Gold (TCG), October 2024: completed a $35m placement at 31c, a 13.9% discount to the previous close of 36c, although $12.55m of this will require shareholder approval. Funds will be used to advance its Ivory Coast project. No SPP for retail so they've been added to this “placement only shame file”.

Unico Silver (USL), November 2024: $22m placement leaked to The AFR's Street Talk column. Market cap $109m when raising launched and it finished at $22 million at 27c, a hefty discount to the previous close of 31c. No follow-on SPP.


Vulcan Energy (VUL), May 2023: announced a $109 million placement at $5.10 but no sign of any SPP for retail shareholders. Typical for a Perth-based resources play. The placement was priced at 17.2% discount to the previous close of $6.16 and the stock settled at $5.15m by May 5 giving the lithium play a market cap of $883 million. Went into the offer with around 33,000 retail shareholders who should have been treated better. Placement was under-written by Cannacord Genuity and Bank of America Merrill Lynch which were paid 1.75% with a bonus 0.3% if all went well. That was a minimum of $1.9 million for minimum risk.

Vulcan Energy Resources (VUL), June 2024: $65m placement to CIMIC, Gina Rinehart and the Smorgon family at $4.08, a hefty 19.7% discount to the last close of $5.08. CIMIC took $41 million, Gina $20 million to give her an overall holding of 7.5% and the Smorgons $4 million. No sign of any SPP for retail shareholders to participate on the same terms to help funds it lithium play in Germany. The stock fell 3.25% to 4.93 on June 4, the day after the raising was announced, giving it a market cap of around $850 million once the placement settles. Ran a physical AGM in Perth on May 24, 2024, which was disappointing from a transparency point of view.

Vysarn (VYS), September 2024: The AFR's Street Talk column was given the drop before the water company officially unveiled a $38.2m placement at 40c to fund an engineering acquisition. Was priced at a 15.8% discount to the previous close of 47.5c. There was a slight delay after Vysarn decided to seek shareholder approval for the deferred share component of the acquisition consideration. The stock was at 45c on September 24, giving it a market cap of $235 million.

WA1 Resources (WA1), July 2024: used The AFR's Street Talk column to announce a $50 million placement at $17, a 9.8% discount to the previous close of $18.84, to keep drilling at its promising West Arunta critical minerals project in WA, but then upped it to $60m after strong demand. No sign of an SPP for retail and stock resumed at $17.16 so no quick profit for participants.

WIA Gold (WIA), November 2024: $30m placement leaked to The AFR's Street Talk column and then confirmed to the ASX on November 5. Priced at 15c, a marginal discount to the previous close of 15.5c. Market cap $179m when raising launched.

Wildcat Resources (WC8), November 2023: $100m placement at 76c with no accompanying SPP. Stock was at 61c by mid-January 2024.

ZIP (Z1P), 2021: the emerging buy now pay later outfit launched a $120m placement at $9.18, a 4.5% discount to the previous close, in conjunction with a $400m zero coupon convertible note, which was similar to what Afterpay did. The two founders sold 2 million shares into the placement. No sign of any SPP for retail.

Copyright © 2024 The Mayne Report. All rights reserved

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