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Listed explorer Firefinch’s lithium spin-off Leo Lithium had its brokers rounding up bids for up to $44 million in the IPO’s shortfall auction on Thursday afternoon.

Listed explorer Firefinch is spinning out its lithium assets in Mali into a separate company called Leo Lithium. Louise Kennerley

The brokers were offering Leo Lithium shares at 70¢ a pop, and bids were due 4pm Thursday.

Leo Lithium would house Firefinch’s Goulamina project in Western Africa’s Mali. It has been looking to raise $50 million to $100 million via the IPO.

Initial plans were for an $80 million pro-rata offer (one Leo Lithium share for every 10.33 Firefinch shares), with the leftover stock going into a shortfall auction - both at 70¢ a share.

Thursday afternoon’s $44 million shortfall auction indicates existing Firefinch investors only took up $36 million of the $80 million worth of shares that was offered to them.

Euroz Hartleys, Macquarie Capital and Canaccord Genuity were the joint lead arrangers and bookrunners to the shortfall auction.