Piedmont Lithium Ltd (ASX:PLL) (NASDAQ:PLL) has received commitments to place 145 million shares at 14.5 cents each to institutional investors to raise $21 million.
The placement was led by cornerstone investor, Fidelity International, a global asset manager. Fidelity will subscribe for 74 million shares and will become a substantial shareholder of the company.
Piedmont’s largest shareholder, AustralianSuper, the largest industry super fund in Australia, has agreed to subscribe for 19 million shares to maintain its pro-rata 13% position, further confirming its continued support for the company and its Piedmont Lithium Project.
READ: Piedmont Lithium mineral analysis reveals simple lithium ore body
The order book was rounded out with a number of high-quality Australian and Asian institutions, including some existing shareholders and others new to the Piedmont story.
Piedmont president and CEO Keith Phillips said: “We are extremely pleased to welcome Fidelity to our register as a substantial shareholder, and for the continued support of AustralianSuper and several other quality institutional investors in our company participating based on their strong confidence in the quality of our Piedmont Lithium Project and the prospects for our company.
“Securing these funds will allow us to maintain our ambitious development timetable for what we believe to be the world’s most strategically located lithium project.”
READ: Piedmont Lithium resource upgrade has project on track to be North America’s largest
Proceeds from the placement will be used to complete a definitive feasibility study (DFS) and provide funding for Piedmont to continue development of its 100% owned Piedmont Lithium Project in the world-class Carolina Tin-Spodumene Belt in the US.
The development work will include additional drilling to upgrade the project’s Inferred resources to indicated resources, additional metallurgical test work and engineering studies and ongoing land consolidation.