Sprott closes $200-million initial public offering of 20 million shares
May 15, 2008TORONTO - Investment firm Sprott Inc. (TSX:SII) has closed its $200-million initial public offering of 20 million shares and begun trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
The share issue - a secondary offering by current shareholders of the employee-owned firm including founder Eric Sprott - priced each share at $10.
The stock traded down 15 cents at $9.85 in early TSX trading Thursday, with almost two million shares changing hands.
The underwriters have an overallotment option to purchase up to an additional three million shares by June 14.
Just before the closing of the offering, Sprott Inc. acquired all of Sprott Asset Management Inc., an independent money manager with $6.8 billion in assets.
Sprott Resource Corp. (TSX:SCP) - an affiliated company formerly called General Minerals Corp. - announced Thursday it had working capital of $33.2 million at the end of the first quarter.
In addition, Sprott Resource held portfolio investments valued at $11.1 million, plus its 37 per cent investment in PBS Canada, which owns an indirect majority stock in coal mining operations in Pennsylvania.
Subsequent to the end of the first quarter, Sprott Resource invested an additional US$24 million to maintain its position in PBS Canada when it undertook a US$64.5 million share offering.
PBS Canada has used the funds raised through the share offering to subscribe for shares of its subsidiary Mincorp Acquisition Corp., which has bought out the company's management and employees. As a result, PBS Canada now owns over 85 per cent of Mincorp.
Sprott Resource has been investing in several resource plays, including the Mantaro phosphate project and potash exploration ventures with Altius Minerals Corp. (TSX:ALS) and Lara Exploration Ltd. (TSXV:LRA)
