ATOME PLC (AIM:ATOM) has conditionally raised around £25.64 million after locking in the equity leg of financing for its US$665 million Villeta low-carbon fertiliser project in Paraguay and declaring final investment decision.
The AIM-listed company said it had signed definitive agreements for US$245 million of project equity, completing the funding package alongside US$420 million of debt already arranged. Villeta, ATOME’s flagship project, is planned as a 260,000-tonne-per-year calcium ammonium nitrate plant and is expected by the company to become the world’s largest dedicated low-carbon fertiliser facility once built.
The fundraising was priced at 60p per share. An institutional placing raised about £6.59 million, while subscriptions covered a further 30.09 million shares, including a conditional US$17 million subscription by Casale S.A., the project’s EPC contractor. Directors and senior managers subscribed for 5.77 million shares, and certain existing shareholders and third parties took 3.34 million shares.
ATOME also increased its separate RetailBook offer to £1 million after substantial demand, saying the offer was significantly oversubscribed and scaled back after giving preference to existing shareholders. The proceeds, together with US$5.8 million of ATOME resources, will fund ATOME’s US$31 million preferred share investment in ATOME Paraguay and provide working capital for its wider project pipeline.
The Villeta project has a fixed-price US$465 million EPC contract with Casale, a 25-year power purchase agreement with Paraguay’s ANDE and a minimum 10-year take-or-pay offtake deal with Yara International for all plant production. Initial production is projected from August 2029, with full production expected by or before October 2029.