Petra Diamonds launches fully-underwritten rights issue to raise £18.8m

(Sharecast News) - Petra Diamonds said on Friday that it has launched a 10-for-17 fully-underwritten rights issue to raise around £18.8m.

The company said it expects to use the entire net proceeds for general working capital purposes.

The rights issue was priced at 16.5p per share is fully underwritten and committed by the backstop shareholders.

Interim joint chief executive Vivek Gadodia said: "Today marks the final leg of Petra's refinancing with the launch of the Rights Issue and the consent solicitation process to amend and extend the notes.

"Petra has undergone immense change over the past 18 months in order to become a streamlined business that is now positioned to deliver sustained value for its stakeholders. This has enabled us to refinance our debt with a fit-for-purpose solution that allows capital execution while providing the headroom and flexibility to weather the current market conditions.

"I would like to once again thank our shareholders, noteholders and our senior lender for coming together in support of the company. This substantially strengthens our capital structure and allows us to focus on delivering on our business plan."

Petra Diamonds