ENDEAVOUR Mining said on Thursday it had concluded the issue of $500m in senior notes as part of a major refinancing of the gold producer’s balance sheet.
The notes will pay interest semi-annually at a rate of 5% a year and would be settled on or around October 14, maturing on October 14 in 2026, the company said.
The proceeds, combined with cash on the group’s balance sheet, would be used to repay a $370m bridge term loan facility which, in turn, was put to retire higher cost debt facilities used to buy Teranga Gold Corporation.
Funds raised from the notes would also repay $130m drawn under the group’s existing revolving credit facility (RCF).
As part of the refinancing, Endeavour Mining agreed a new $500m, four-year RCF. It replaces a bridge facility and an existing RCF.
The refinancing closes a busy 12-month period for Endeavour Mining on the corporate front, the highlight of which was the Teranga Gold deal which took group gold production to 1.5 million ounces a year.
The deal, announced in November 2020, came hard on the heels of the takeover of SEMAFO, a Toronto-listed firm that owned two mines in Burkina Faso. The Teranga deal added the Sabodala-Massawa mine in Senegal to Endeavour’s West African portfolio.
In June, the company listed its securities on the London Stock Exchange in an effort to boost liquidity as well as its rating.
The focus now falls on reliable production as well as replacing and growing resources. On September 30, Endeavour said it aimed to discover between 15 million to 20 million ounces of gold from seven assets in an effort to extend the life of its mines beyond 10 years.
