Griffin Mining Regulatory News (GFM)

11 Jul 2007 09:42

Griffin Mining Ld11 July 2007 GRIFFIN MINING LIMITED 60 St James's Street, London SW1A 1LE, United Kingdom Telephone: + 44 (0)20 7629 7772 Facsimile: + 44 (0)20 7629 7773 E mail: griffin@griffinmining.com 11th July 2007 GRIFFIN RAISES £75 MILION THROUGH PLACEMENT TO CITADEL Griffin Mining Limited ("Griffin" or the "Company") and entities affiliated withCitadel Investment Group, L.L.C. ("Citadel") have agreed terms for a placementof 68,181,818 million shares at £1.10 per share for total proceeds of £75million. This will take Citadel's shareholding in the Company to 77,181,818shares representing 29.51% of the enlarged share capital of the Company. Postcompletion of the placement, the Company will have 261,509,549 ordinary shareson issue. Admission of the shares to trading on AIM is expected by the end ofJuly following execution of a subscription agreement. This will bring total cash balances in the Company to over $200 million with nodebt. The proceeds of the placement will be used for acquisitions andfurthering the Company's stated corporate objectives. Citadel has agreed for a 3 year period: 1. not to acquire additional shares in the Company in an amountthat exceeds 5% of the outstanding shares of the Company in any 6 month period; 2. to grant the Company a right of first offer on any disposalby Citadel's shares and the right to match any offer by a third party for anysuch shares. In the event that Citadel offers any shares to the Company, theCompany will have three months to identify a buyer for such shares; and 3. that it will not make a takeover bid for the Company withoutthe support of the Chairman unless a third party first makes a takeover bid forthe Company. The Company and Citadel also expect to cooperate as the Company seeks futuregrowth and expansion opportunities, including, with respect to potentialinvestments in China. The parties have agreed that the Company should implement an appropriatemanagement incentive programme after the subscription. In furtherance of this,the Board has resolved to issue a further 23.75 million options over theenlarged share capital of the Company, exercisable at the subscription price,the terms of which will be finalised with the finalisation of the SubscriptionAgreement between the Company and Citadel. Chairman Mladen Ninkov commented, "This is a milestone for the Company. Itsignifies the Company's status in the international investment community, itrecognises the Company's pre-eminent position in China and it provides thefinancial means to undertake and complete almost any mining transaction theCompany can reasonably foresee. We could not be more pleased." About Citadel Investment Group, L.L.C. Citadel is one of the world's leading financial institutions focused onalternative asset management strategies. The Citadel group of companies employover 1,000 professionals at headquarters in Chicago and across its officesaround the world, including New York, San Francisco, London, Hong Kong andTokyo. Further information Mladen Ninkov - Chairman Telephone: +44(0)20 7629 7772Roger Goodwin - Finance DirectorGriffin Mining Limited Adrian Hadden / Christopher Rollason Telephone: +44(0)20 7523 8353Collins Stewart Europe Limited Hugo de Salis Telephone: +44(0) 20 7242 4477St Brides Media & Finance Ltd Griffin Mining Limited's shares are quoted on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange (symbol GFM). The Company's news releases are available on the Company's web site:www.griffinmining.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange