Hot Chili closes $40M (Aust.) placement of shares

Executive Summary

• Hot Chili Ltd. closed a $40 million private placement of 24,242,425 new ordinary shares at A$1.65 (C$1.56) per share.
• Proceeds will be used to accelerate development of the Costa Fuego copper‑gold project in Chile, including integration of the La Verde discovery and funding an environmental impact assessment this year.
• The placement was oversubscribed, with participation from the three largest shareholders (Glencore, Blue Spec, GS Group) and a broad base of institutional investors across Australia, North America and overseas.

Key Details

• Placement size: 24,242,425 new fully paid ordinary shares.
• Offer price: A$1.65 per share (C$1.56).
• Gross proceeds: Approximately A$40 million (≈ C$37 million).
• Allocation of proceeds:
• Fund scaling and economics of Costa Fuego via integration of La Verde discovery.
• Support submission of an environmental impact assessment for near‑term production.
• Lead managers: Veritas Securities Ltd., ATB Cormark Capital Markets, Desjardins Capital Markets (joint lead); BMO Capital Markets (co‑manager).
• Placement structure:
• Institutional/professional investors – A$21,796,002 gross proceeds from 13,209,698 shares.
• Private placement under NI 45‑106 exemption – C$17,211,054 gross proceeds (≈ A$18,204,000) from 11,032,727 shares.
• Agent compensation: Cash commission of 6 % of gross proceeds plus issuance of 1,212,121 non‑transferable, unlisted broker options (exercise price A$2.145 per share; exercisable up to 30 months after Feb 12 2026).
• Placement capacity usage:
• 7,698,365 new shares issued under ASX Rule 7.1 (15 % placement capacity).
• 17,756,181 new shares issued under ASX Rule 7.1A (additional 10 % capacity).
• Regulatory notes: Shares not subject to a hold period in Canada; final acceptance by TSX Venture Exchange pending.

Notable Quotes

“We are very happy to have our three largest shareholders (Glencore, Blue Spec and GS Group) participate in the private placement… The company is now well funded to lift Costa Fuego’s scale and economics through the integration of our third major coastal copper‑gold discovery (La Verde) and secure the project’s timing for near‑term production.” – Christian Easterday, Managing Director, Hot Chili Ltd.