Trinity Exploration announces restructure and $15m fundraising

Trinity Exploration announced its intention to raise approximately $15m on Friday, by way of a placing and subscription of, in aggregate, 187,600,000 new ordinary shares at a placing price of 4.98p - expected to raise gross proceeds of approximately $11.73m, and a proposed issuance of convertible loan notes expected to raise gross proceeds of $3.28m.

The AIM-traded firm said the fundraising was part of a proposed financial restructuring of the group.

Its board also announced that, in order to undertake the restructuring, the Trinidad and Tobago subsidiaries filed a creditor proposal with the supervisor on 8 December and that the group entered into settlement agreements.

Those included an agreement with Citi, under which the group's outstanding debts to Citi will be settled for $3.5m.

The company had been in a formal sale process and strategic review of the options available to the to maximise value for shareholders since 8 April 2015.

Having considered the options available, the board said it believes that the restructuring represents the best approach for the group and it now intends to focus exclusively on that funding route.

As a result, it confirmed it has decided to terminate the formal sale process with immediate effect and therefore the offer period had been ended.

“The restructuring which we are announcing today will if successful bring to an end a period of prolonged uncertainty for Trinity, and will provide a strong foundation for the company to move forward and to develop the group's valuable interests across the ... production areas for the benefit of shareholders and the company's other stakeholders,” said executive chairman Bruce Dingwall.

“Reaching a satisfactory settlement with our creditors will enable Trinity to utilise the services of significant numbers of employees and contractors and continue to contribute to the economy of Trinidad and Tobago.”

Dingwall said Trinity takes great pride in being a locally managed company, and the close working relationships that it fosters.

“It is the forbearance, goodwill and collegiate approach of our many stakeholders that has enabled Trinity to sustain operations and we look forward to maintaining these important working relationships in the future.”