@teilenwertYes, you are correct that in a perfect world this...

@teilenwert
Yes, you are correct that in a perfect world this would've obviously been the preferred choice. Why couldn't Mark just wait out another month or two until the ACC binding agreement would be signed and then raise? Well, this hurts Mark the most so I'm sure there is a valid reason. It's important to remember that going into purchase agreement negotiations, it's beneficial to have cash on hand and to be in a strong position, which Talga in this regard was not.

Impossible to know what Mark was facing behind the scenes, but it looks to me like he held off for as long as possible in this rough market, and like @Hawks201345 said, attempted to increase the share price with the non-binding announcement. This had a 20% increase, but has since retraced from recent highs. Timing was unfortunate too, as the GBP tanked the day before which nullified this announcement somewhat. What to do other than rip the band-aid off?

Dilution aside, getting the CR over and done with before a binding agreement will make it more impactful. The market won't have hesitation knowing that a CR is out of the way.