DENARIUS METALS ANNOUNCES CONSENT SOLICITATION PROCESS TO RETIRE ITS CONVERTIBLE DEBENTURES TO STRENGTHEN ITS LIQUIDITY AS IT DEVELOPS ITS GOLD, SILVER AND CRITICAL MINERALS PROJECTS IN COLOMBIA AND S
- The proposed transaction will fix the Company's capital structure, using its common shares to fully retire the Convertible Debentures.
- Dramatically strengthens the Company's liquidity as it develops its portfolio of projects by retaining a total of approximately CA$157 million of cash that would otherwise be paid to service the gold premiums and interest on the Convertible Debentures over the next four years.
- Provides an acceleration of the investment return and upside in the equity of the Company to the holders of the Convertible Debentures through the early redemption of the Convertible Debentures with common shares and benefits all shareholders by removing the impact of the Convertible Debentures' overhang on the Company's common shares.
- The Company's board of directors, after careful consideration, has unanimously approved the proposed transaction.
Since then, we have commenced production at our Zancudo Project and we are working to ramp up operations over the next 18 months to fully utilize our new 1,000 tonnes per day processing plant, which is currently being constructed. In parallel, we continue to focus on bringing the Aguablanca Project into operation within the next 12 months and we are mapping out the game plan to bring our Lomero and Toral Projects in
The Transaction is designed to preserve cash in order to maintain the Company's financial condition for the benefit of all stakeholders as we develop our portfolio of assets. Over the last 12 months, we have settled payments to the holders of the Debentures totaling CA$16.2 million for the monthly interest and two gold premiums on our Debentures through the issuance of a total of approximately 21.9 million shares. With the current robust gold price environment expected to continue into the foreseeable future, we are expecting to have to pay a total of approximately CA$157 million in gold premiums and interest on the Debentures over the next four years, if the Debentures remain outstanding. While we are confident that the operating cash flow from our Zancudo Project will be sufficient to service these obligations, the going concern note in our financial statements cautions that there can be no assurance that these activities will be successful. With our internally generated cash flow largely, but not entirely, committed to servicing these obligations over the next four years, we would need to secure new financing to develop our projects in
In evaluating the Transaction, the board of directors of Denarius Metals considered a range of alternatives to the Transaction, including continuing to service the Debentures from operating cash flow and refinancing the Debentures with new debt. The board of directors concluded that retiring the Debentures with common shares offers the most certain and value-accretive path forward for the Company and its shareholders.
The Company has an aggregate principal amount of CA$19.9 million of convertible unsecured debentures due
The proposed Amendments to the 2023 Indenture and the 2024 Indenture, if approved and implemented, include:
- adding an early redemption provision pursuant to which the Company can require all holders to convert their Debentures prior to maturity into common shares at the respective conversion prices as set out in the 2023 Indenture and the 2024 Indenture; and
- implementing a provision requiring the Company, upon exercise of its early redemption option, to compensate the holders with a "make whole" payment (the "Make Whole Payment") that will be settled through an issuance of additional common shares of the Company. The Make Whole Payment will represent an amount per CA$1.00 of principal equivalent to the net present value of the future quarterly gold premiums and the monthly interest payments payable from the early redemption date through to the respective maturity dates for each of the Debentures.
If the Amendments are approved, on closing of the Transaction on
- a total of approximately 44.2 million common shares to the holders of the Series 1 Debentures resulting from the conversion of the Series 1 Debentures at the conversion price of CA$0.45 per share;
- a total of approximately 95.0 million common shares to the holders of the Series 1 Debentures representing a Make Whole Payment of CA$3.87 per CA$1.00 of principal that will be settled through the issuance of 4.78 shares per CA$1.00 of principal amount of Series 1 Debentures issued and outstanding;
- a total of approximately 23.8 million common shares to the holders of the Series 2 Debentures resulting from the conversion of the Series 2 Debentures at the conversion price of CA$0.60 per share;
- a total of approximately 62.3 million shares to the holders of the Series 2 Debentures representing a Make Whole Payment of CA$3.54 per CA$1.00 of principal that will be settled through the issuance of 4.37 shares per CA$1.00 of principal amount of Series 2 Debentures issued and outstanding; and
- the Make Whole Payments noted above include consent fees equal to 3% per CA$1.00 of principal that are being paid to all holders of the Debentures in conjunction with the Transaction, consistent with market practice for debenture consent solicitations of this nature. The consent fee is payable on identical terms to all debentureholders, including insiders, with no preferential treatment. A total of approximately 1.3 million common shares is being issued in respect of the consent fees being paid to the holders of the Debentures.
The common shares issued pursuant to the Amendments for the Make Whole Payments will not be subject to a hold period and will be issued at a price of CA$0.81 per share, representing the 20-day volume weighted average share price of the common shares on Cboe Canada as of the close on
The Company will be holding separate special meetings of the holders of each series of Debentures on
Further details regarding the Transaction will be included in the Company's management information circulars to be prepared in connection with the special meetings of the holders of the Debentures and the shareholders. Meeting materials, including the management information circulars, will be mailed by the Company to holders of the Debentures and to shareholders of record, as applicable, in advance of the special meetings in accordance with legal requirements. Copies of the materials for the meetings, once available, will also be filed on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and posted on the Company's website at www.denariusmetals.com.
Certain directors and members of management hold Debentures that were acquired on the same terms and conditions and at the same time as those held by third-party debentureholders and accordingly, will participate in the Transaction on identical economic terms as all other debentureholders. No preferential treatment, collateral payments or benefits, or differentiated consideration is being provided to insiders in connection with the Transaction. Pursuant to the consent solicitation process, directors and management of the Company have indicated their intention to approve the Amendments and, as such, the following insiders will receive common shares for Make Whole Payments, if the Amendments become effective, as summarized in the table below:
Current Holdings and Issued & Outstanding (I&O) as of | Shares issuable pursuant to the | Pro Forma Holdings | ||||
Common Shares | Series 1 Debentures (CAD) | Series 2 Debentures (CAD) | Conversion of | Make Whole Payments (1) | Common Shares | |
27,334,608 | $ 1,939,306 | $ 6,554,520 | 15,233,769 | 37,913,135 | 80,481,512 | |
3,564,486 | 35,374 | 156,060 | 338,709 | 851,070 | 4,754,265 | |
398,419 | 46,818 | - | 104,040 | 223,790 | 726,249 | |
75,580 | 15,606 | - | 34,680 | 74,597 | 184,857 | |
Total insiders | 31,373,093 | $ 2,037,104 | $ 6,710,580 | 15,711,198 | 39,062,592 | 86,146,883 |
Total I&O | 212,381,686 | $ 19,886,560 | 67,944,866 | 157,336,838 | 437,663,390 | |
Total insiders as a % of total I&O | 14.77 % | 10.24 % | 47.09 % | 23.12 % | 24.83 % | 19.68 % |
(1) | Make Whole Payments to Insiders include a total of 323,988 common shares related to the 3% consent fee being paid in conjunction with the Amendments. The aggregate Make Whole Payments to the holders of the Debentures includes a total of 1,264,373 common shares being issued for the consent fees. |
The Company has determined that the Transaction does not constitute a "related party transaction" for purposes of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 – Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"), as the Transaction is a transaction in which the general body of holders in
The Transaction, including the terms of the Make Whole Payments and the participation by insiders, was reviewed and unanimously approved by the Company's board of directors. Further details regarding the review process and any formal valuation or exemption relied upon under MI 61-101 will be set out in the management information circular for the shareholders' meeting.
If you have any questions about the Transaction, please contact Sodali & Co, the Company's consent solicitation and proxy solicitation agent (i) by telephone at 1-888-444-0561 (North American toll free) or 1-289-695-3075 (collect) or (ii) by email at [email protected].
About Denarius Metals
Denarius Metals is a Canadian junior company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, development and eventual operation of precious metals and polymetallic mining projects in high-grade districts in Colombia and Spain. Denarius Metals is listed on Cboe Canada where it trades under the symbol "DMET". The Company also trades on the OTCQX Market in the United States under the symbol "DNRSF".
In Colombia, Denarius Metals is producing gold and silver in an "early production" phase at its 100%-owned Zancudo Project while it completes construction of a 1,000 tonnes per day processing plant that is expected to start producing high-grade gold-silver concentrates by the third quarter of 2026. The Zancudo Project is a high-grade gold-silver deposit, which includes the historic producing Independencia mine, and is located in the Cauca Belt, about 30 km southwest of Medellin.
In Spain, Denarius Metals has interests in three projects focused on in-demand critical minerals. The Company owns a 21.8% interest in Rio Narcea Recursos, S.L. and is the operator of its Aguablanca Project, which has been recognized by the EU as a Strategic Project. The Aguablanca Project comprises a turnkey 5,000 tonnes per day processing plant and the rights to exploit the historic producing Aguablanca nickel-copper mine, located in Monesterio, Extremadura. Denarius Metals also owns a 100% interest in the Lomero Project, a polymetallic deposit located on the Spanish side of the prolific copper rich Iberian Pyrite Belt, approximately 88 km southwest of the Aguablanca Project, and a 100% interest in the Toral Project, a high-grade zinc-lead-silver deposit located in the Leon Province, Northern Spain.
Additional information on Denarius Metals can be found on its website at www.denariusmetals.com and by reviewing its profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.
Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains "forward-looking information", which may include, but is not limited to, statements with respect to anticipated business plans or strategies, including matters related to the Debentures' consent solicitation process, the anticipated benefits of the Transaction, the proposed timing of the Transaction and related meetings of debentureholders and shareholders, and receipt of regulatory, Cboe Canada, debentureholders' and shareholders' approvals. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Denarius Metals to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements are described under the caption "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Information Form dated March 31, 2026 which is available for view on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this press release and Denarius Metals disclaims, other than as required by law, any obligation to update any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, results, future events, circumstances, or if management's estimates or opinions should change, or otherwise. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
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