Sydney, Thursday 21 May 2009 ‐ White Energy Company Limited (ASX: WEC) is pleased to announce that it has successfully completed a placement through Southern Cross Equities Limited of 36.667 million new ordinary shares at $1.50 per share to raise $55 million. Strong demand for the placement from local and overseas institutions resulted in the issue closing heavily oversubscribed.
The placement has been conducted in two tranches: 21.075 million shares have been placed pursuant to the Directors discretionary power of allotment, with the balance of 15.592 million shares being placed subject to shareholder approval at an Extraordinary General Meeting to be convened as soon as practicable.
The shares will be placed at a price of $1.50 per share which reflects a discount of 5.7% to the Volume Weighted Average Price of $1.59 for the 30 days preceding the announcement of the trading halt.
The proceeds will provide the necessary funding to underpin WEC’s business development initiatives, particularly in the North American market with respect to the planned development at the Buckskin and Peabody plants in the Powder River Basin, and for general working capital needs.
In addition, the Directors of the Company have confirmed the establishment of a Share Purchase Plan Offer. Eligible shareholders will be given the opportunity to acquire up to $5,000 of new shares in WEC. Further details of this offer will be advised to shareholders shortly.
About White Energy
White Energy is a technology enabled natural resources company and is a recognized leader in the development of clean coal. White Energy has the exclusive worldwide license to the BCB coal upgrading technology. The BCB coal upgrading process was developed by Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), K.R Komarek Inc, TraDet Inc and The Griffin Coal Mining Company Pty Ltd. The patented process involves the crushing, drying and briquetting of high moisture coals, resulting in the reduction of the moisture content of the coal and converting the product into a higher energy content, stable product, while maintaining the low sulphur, low ash characteristics of the feedstock coal. The advantages of this process involve creating a higher energy value coal, creating a physically and chemically stable product, significantly enhancing coal transportation efficiencies and creating a higher energy value release with lower carbon emissions.
White Energy has built and operated a number of coal upgrading demonstration plants over the last 15 years. White Energy’s business model includes the development of BCB coal upgrading facilities in 1,000,000 tonne per annum modules at mine‐site or other strategic locations, individually or by way of joint venture, incorporating long‐term feedstock coal supply agreements with owners of significant low rank coal deposits. White Energy, in joint venture with PT Bayan Resources, has completed construction of a one million tonne per annum coal upgrading plant in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. The commissioning of the plant is underway. White Energy and Bayan Resources have agreed to expand the capacity of this joint venture to 15 MTPA. The Company also recently announced it has entered into a Joint Development Agreement with Peabody Energy to pursue the development of coal upgrading plants at a Peabody mine in the Powder River Basin. In addition to this, White Energy has entered into various other agreements to develop, construct and operate coal upgrading facilities around the world.