Evion Group NL has secured strong investor support for the placement of shortfall shares following its recently completed non-renounceable entitlement offer, raising a total of $2.0 million before costs. The entitlement offer provided eligible shareholders with the opportunity to subscribe for one new share for every three existing shares held at an issue price of $0.023 per share.
The total capital raise comprises $1.33 million secured through the rights issue and an additional $0.66 million from the placement of shortfall shares.
The funds will be directed towards expanding the Panthera Graphite Joint Venture, in response to strong global demand for high-quality expandable graphite products.
Evion also plans to issue a prospectus for a pro-rata entitlement issue of options, known as the Bonus Option Offer. Under this offer, eligible shareholders will receive one option for every two shares held as of the record date, February 21, 2025. The options will have an exercise price of $0.03 per share and a subscription price of $0.003 per option.
Shareholders will have the opportunity to apply for additional options in the event of a shortfall.
"There has been a tremendous show of support from our shareholders and new investors for the great strides Evion has taken to leap from small-scale developer to now being a credible producer of a high-quality expandable graphite product, with a strong growth trajectory,” Evion managing director, David Round said.
“Pleasingly, our Panthera JV is enjoying very strong operating margins and receiving considerable inbound interest for our product, supporting the joint venture’s plans to double our scale of production. Plans are already in action to make the relevant upgrades to our facilities to accommodate this growth in output from approximately 2,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) to approximately 4,000 tpa.
“Our success in India with the Panthera JV is also leading to new business opportunities emerging for other downstream graphite products, giving Evion great potential to diversify its revenue mix and further enhance operating margins."
Indicative timetable.
Use of funds
Funds raised will be applied to the following programs:
- Expansion of plant capacity and production run rate at the Panthera Expandable Graphite Joint Venture, India;
- Finalise permitting and licencing requirements for the Maniry Graphite Project, Madagascar;
- Update to the Battery Anode Materials study; and
- General working capital purposes.
Earlier this month, Evion was preparing for the first shipments from its expandable graphite JV in India.
Production at the 50:50 JV progressed well in December 2024, with operations on track to complete the initial order of 400 tonnes, which will be shipped to Europe over the coming months.
The first production run is expected to yield between 386 and 400 tonnes of expandable graphite, all of which has been sold and will be shipped as directed by Evion’s buyers as quickly as possible.
An additional 500 tonnes of concentrate is on-site, ready for processing in the second and third quarters of 2025, with material secured in advance on favourable pricing terms.
The average pricing achieved for the initial sales ranges from US$3,000 to US$3,300 per tonne (FOB), while production costs are expected to be between US$1,500 and US$1,750 per tonne, with potential for short-term cost savings.