We can read between the lines here. Cyprium were obviously...

We can read between the lines here.

Cyprium were obviously expecting Glencore to do the deal on the off-take side in late June.

Presumably, Glencore then stonewalled them & management's hands were tied - as they were under a period of exclusivity.

Once that expired, they could entertain discussions with other parties.

One of them, Transamine SA - has stepped up and submitted a term sheet (after they completed their DD activities).

So, we can speculate that the first delay was caused by Glencore getting cold feet. And additional delays involved new parties becoming involved and having to complete their own DD.

The off-take was always the snag.

They had to sort the secured off-take financing first, as this would then determine how much they would secure via senior debt.

Additionally, all parties involved care mostly about when they will be repaid. So, the repayment terms are important hence the comment “in conjunction with the prospective secured senior debt providers”. Things need to align with regards to who gets paid and when. I imagine this is what they are finalising at the moment.

The question now is whether they will try and secure the remaining A$200m via debt or whether it will be say an 80:20 debt/equity mix. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was an equity component and will eat the dilution to see the deal get done.

A reminder:

Raising A$100m is very difficult at the spec end of the market.

Raising A$250m is borderline impossible (unless the underlying asset is an absolute cracker - in which case - a major would have already stepped in and taken the keys off management).

The underlying commodity is also important. Capital markets are open to the right copper projects at the right numbers.

In this case, A$250m required a complex package involving multiple parts. Think of it as one big puzzle. All the parts need to fit. It isn't as simple as many would like to believe.

There is more work to do, however, I fully expect the dominos to start falling now.

* Speculating re: Glencore.