Bird & Bird advises WH Ireland Limited on the £15 million Pensana plc fundraise

Pensana plc (LSE: PRE) announced that the Company has raised gross proceeds of £15 million through the issue of an aggregate of 12,500,000 new ordinary shares of £0.001 each in the capital of the Company at a price of 120 pence per share.

The Pensana plc fundraise comprises of:

• a placing by WH Ireland Limited
• a placing by SI Capital Ltd
• investment by Fundo Soberano de Angola (Angola’s Sovereign Wealth Fund) (“FSDEA”), the Company’s largest shareholder for 1,250,000 Ordinary Shares representing 10% of the fundraise; and
• certain direct subscriptions.

The Company is focussed on the production of the rare earth elements, Neodymium and Praseodymium (“NdPr”), used in the manufacture of magnetic metals in the electric vehicle and offshore wind markets, deemed essential for the societal transition to a green economy at a time when China dominates this supply chain. The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the fundraise to progress the early-stage development of the Longonjo mining project in Angola as well as the refinery project in Hull, UK, with the funds being applied to progress early stage construction, equipment, bulk materials and fabrication costs and site infrastructure.

The Bird & Bird team was led by Corporate partner Clive Hopewell, together with legal director Nicholas Heap and associate Ed Reardon.

Lead partner, Clive Hopewell, Bird & Bird comments: “We were delighted to be involved in this exciting transaction which highlights the key role the mining sector plays in the development of the green economy. Our team at Bird & Bird provides a rare combination of market leading expertise in renewable energy and mining, so we were well placed to advise on this deal.”