RiverFort Global Capital funds AIM listed Ascent Resources Plc (Ticker: AST) (“Ascent”) with a new US$2 million senior secured loan facility, alongside an equity placing of £555,000.
The initial US$1 million advance is repayable in cash in 12-months and is convertible only at a fixed price of 3.22 pence, with a 40% fixed premium to the Issue Price. Additionally, the loan carries a 15% fixed coupon and warrants equal to 33% of the initial loan amount.
Ascent has the option to extend the facility for a further 6 months and can prepay at any time during the initial term or the extended term.
The funds raised through the initial advance and the equity placing will be used to fund the investment into GNG alongside Ascent's ongoing costs to build out the new strategy.
The Lisbon Plant, the only operating natural gas processing plant in the Paradox Basin, GNG estimates it can produce 3.4% of the US liquid helium production. Currently operational, the plant sells purified helium directly to industrial consumers. The liquification unit, inactive since around 2013, is planned to be recommissioned to re-enter premium liquified helium markets, with Ascent potentially providing capital for this development.
The chairman of Ascent noted the following regarding the GNG investment that:
We are delighted to share our forward strategy for the business, centred around the highly profitable US onshore gas markets and the short supplied, high value and exponentially growing global Helium market. Helium is a key requirement for many aspects of modern life including medical devices, super computers and data centres. We also expect a significant increase in demand for natural gas in the US and elsewhere to generate electricity to feed data centres and to power the artificial intelligence revolution”
