Kibo Mining settles balance of payment facility

Africa-focused energy company Kibo Mining has settled the outstanding balance of its forward payment facility with a new share issue priced at a premium.

Kibo settled the £1.11m debt by issuing Sanderson Capital Partners with 21.23m ordinary shares of 5.25p each, a 13% premium to the AIM-listed stock's closing price on 6 July.

The company stated the conversion at a premium was "a strong endorsement" of its strategy and, with the termination of any claims by Sanderson, Kibo was now able to receive the $3.7m in cash owed to it from its engineering, procurement and construction contractor SEPCO III.

Trading of the conversion shares is expected to begin on AIM on or around 16 July, at which time Sanderson's shareholding in Kibo will increase to 52.76m ordinary shares - representing an interest of 8.45%.

Kibo's chief executive, Louis Coetzee, said, "With the settlement of the Sanderson facility, the $3.7m due to us from SEPCO III and two possible further investments by it, which we announced last week, we now have the realistic expectation of a strong short to medium term cash position."

"Additionally, we now have no outstanding liabilities, which puts us in a much stronger position in terms of negotiations related to debt and equity funding for the three projects we are currently advancing," added Coetzee.

As of 0840 BST, Kibo share had grown 2.27% to 4.76p.