Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corp., a mining company owned by bookstore magnate Alfredo Ramos, said Tuesday it will spend $200 million to increase copper production to 100,000 tons a day over the next two to three years from 40,000 tons.
Atlas chief finance officer Martin Buckingham told reporters at the sidelines of an investors’ briefing that the company was finalizing the capital requirements for the increased production.
Atlas said last week it would take over unit Carmen Copper Corp. by purchasing the 45.54- percent stake owned by Singapore-based Casop Atlas Corp. and Casop Atlas B.V. for $368 million.
Atlas owned 54.46 percent of Carmen Copper prior to the transaction.
Atlas said it would raise $390 million in funds through a combination of debt and equity securities to fund this acquisition.
It hired BDO Capital and Investments Corp. and Evercore Partners as financial advisers and arrangers for the acquisition and capital raising.
BDO Capital president Eduardo Francisco declined to disclose the name of the strategic investor that will buy into Atlas through the private placement.
Francisco said BDO Capital was in talks with several companies that were attracted to Atlas because of the expected increase in cashflow following the takeover of Carmen Copper.
“We are talking with several interested investors. But nothing is final,” Francisco said. He expects the transaction to be completed next month.
The transaction involves the issuance of a total of 700.536 million Atlas shares to interested investors.
BDO Capital will underwrite a private placement covering 316.242 million shares at a price of P19.56 per share, or equivalent to $142.2 million. It will also issue $75 million worth of five-year convertible notes to Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. that carry an interest rate of 7 percent per annum, and a separate offer of one-year notes worth $122.8 million.
