International Barytex targets milestone; SilverCrest upsizes sale; Alter Nrg embarks on largest fundraiser

By Kenneth Lim

Boston, March 13 - International Barytex Resources Ltd. said its planned C$5.25 million stock-and-warrant offering should last it into the third quarter, after which it expects to do a much bigger capital raising.

SilverCrest Mines Inc. said it is upsizing its previously announced C$5.5 million offering of units amid strong demand from investors that will allow it to develop key projects.

Alter Nrg Corp. noted that its planned C$40 million stock offering will be its largest ever, but the company could still seek debt financing on a "project level" for its operations.

Barytex eyes milestone

International Barytex said it is selling up to C$5.25 million of share and warrant units in a non-brokered private placement.

The deal will comprise up to 7 million units of one share and one warrant at C$0.75 per unit. Each two-year warrant will have a strike price at C$1.25 in the first year and at C$1.50 in the second year. The warrants will be accelerated if the company's shares close above a threshold for 20 straight trading days more than four months after settlement. The threshold price will be C$1.40 during the first year and C$2.00 during the second year.

International Barytex common stock (TSX: IBX) closed unchanged at C$0.75 on Thursday.

Proceeds will be used for a feasibility study on the company's copper project in the Democratic Republic of Congo, for working capital and for general corporate purposes.

Vancouver, B.C.-based International Barytex is a mineral exploration company.

"This capital raising allows us to complete the study for the Shituru project in the DRC," said International Barytex chief financial officer Sam Yik. "We expect to have that completed in Q3 of this year and that will be a very significant milestone.

"This financing will take us to the completion of that feasibility study and obviously give us a little bit of cushion as well," he added.

If that feasibility study is successful, International Barytex expects to go to the market again, Yik said.

"After that obviously there will be a more senior financing piece," he said. "There's definitely a much bigger piece coming up...We haven't decided [what form of financing to use in the next round], but I would suspect it would be debt and stock."

Yik said the current fundraising is going well, and expects institutional investors and past supporters to take part.

"Actually we received offers from various parties," he said. "For us we're mindful of dilution and so on, so we didn't try to do as big an offer as we could have, but it was something that kind of made sense in terms of the price and we wanted to do it quickly so that we can carry on with the feasibility study and other operations."

SilverCrest upsizes

SilverCrest Mines said it expects to upsize its planned non-brokered sale of C$5.5 million of units.

The Vancouver, B.C.-based silver mining company said Thursday that it raised C$3.49 from the first tranche of the deal, selling 3.2 million units of one share and one half-share warrant at C$1.10 per unit.

In total, the company had said it planned to sell up to 5 million units. Each warrant is exercisable at C$1.40 for 18 months.

SilverCrest common stock (TSX: SVL) rose 1.94% or C$0.02 to close at C$1.05 on Thursday.

When the deal was announced on March 3, Macquarie Bank Ltd. was expected to buy 1,818,180 units.

The placement is non-brokered.

Proceeds will be used for exploration and development of the company's projects, for acquisitions and for working capital.

"It just enables the company to advance its Santa Elena project," chief financial officer Barney Magnusson said. "It's for exploration, development, working capital."

Magnusson said the company was pleased with the response to the financing.

"It is oversubscribed at the moment and it is proving to be quite successful," he said. "We will probably at the end of the financing have about C$7.5 million of working capital. Depending on how quickly we develop the project, if we receive operating permit approvals, we will probably have to raise about C$25 million this year. If we do not, we are probably funded through the end of the year."

The company is currently planning to sell more than originally planned.

"We are talking to existing shareholders, and we are increasing it to a certain size at sort of the directors' discretion," he said.

Magnusson said he was not entirely surprised by the level of interest in the unit sale.

"Usually when we announce a financing we have it sold out," he said. "We have a reasonably good track record when it comes to capital raising. We have very loyal shareholders."

Alter Nrg raises fundraising benchmark

Alter Nrg's planned C$40 million private placement of stock and warrant units will be its largest fundraising effort ever, its chief financial officer said.

Alter Nrg said it will sell 9.1 million common shares at C$4.40 apiece in a deal led by Raymond James Ltd. There is an over-allotment option for a further 1.4 million shares, or C$6 million.

AlterNrg common stock (TSX: NRG) closed at C$4.59 on Thursday.

Proceeds will be used to fund ongoing project development and for working capital. Closing is expected April 3.

Alter Nrg, a Calgary, Alta.-based development-stage company, is pursuing alternative energy solutions to meet the demand for environmentally responsible energy in world markets.

"This would be the largest capital raise for Alter Nrg in its history, so it's definitely significant for us," Alter Nrg chief financial officer Daniel Hay said.

The bought deal "has essentially already been completed, people have already put in their orders to subscribe," Hay said.

"We expect both institutional and retail investors of all different types," he said.

The capital provides Alter Nrg with capital and flexibility going forward, but the company could still take on debt for certain projects, Hay said.

"We're still looking at taking debt at a project level," he said. "This just provides us with flexibility."

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