Key points
- The Liontown share price is up 5% today
- The company has raised $12.9 million from its share purchase plan
- This comes after it recently completed a $450 million institutional placement.
The Liontown Resources Limited (ASX: LTR) share price is leaping today.
This comes after the battery metals explorer revealed after the market closed yesterday that it had completed its share purchase plan (SPP). The SSP was first announced at the start of December.
Currently, the Liontown share price is up 5.45 % at $1.45.
Let's take a look at the news out of Liontown.
What's pushing up the Liontown share price?
Liontown's SPP has closed with subscriptions from eligible shareholders totalling $12.9 million. The explorer initially aimed to raise up to $40 million (before costs).
In the placement, shareholders were given the opportunity to apply for up to $30,000 worth of Liontown ordinary shares. This was under the same price and conditions as the explorer's recently completed placement of $450 million at $1.65 a share, without paying any brokerage costs, commission, or other transaction costs.
Some 7,819,543 new shares were issued today and are expected to be quoted on Monday. However, shareholders were encouraged to confirm actual holdings prior to engaging in the new shares.
In its recent quarterly activities report, the company advised the $450 million placement had received "strong demand" from "high-quality domestic and offshore institutions". These funds have allowed the explorer to de-risk and further develop its Kathleen Valley site in Western Australia.
Comment from management
Speaking on the announcement likely pushing up the Liontown share price today, managing director and CEO Tony Ottaviano said:
On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank shareholders for the strong support they have shown through the SPP during what has been a very volatile period in global markets since the start of the year.
The funds raised under the SPP together with the proceeds of the A$450 million institutional placement completed in December have significantly de-risked our development pathway and put Liontown firmly on track to achieve its objective of becoming a world-class battery materials company.
Liontown share price snapshot
Over the last 12 months, the Liontown share price has increased by around 253%. It has also seen a 51% increase in the last six 6 months.
During the past year, it reached its highest price of $1.94 in November and its lowest of 40 cents almost a year ago.
The explorer has a market capitalisation of $3 billion and 2.18 billion shares issued.
