ACG Metals Aims to Seek Early Refinancing of 14.75% $200M 2028 SSNs; Notes to Start Trading on Nordic Market in H2

Reporting: Katie McMahon

London-listed miner ACG Metals will most likely seek to exercise the call option on its new $200 million, 14.75% senior secured notes, in two years’ time, before refinancing the instrument with a new bond at a lower yield, company CEO and Chairman Artem Volynets told Octus, formerly Reorg. 

The company placed the four-year senior secured notes in December after the special purpose acquisition, or SPAC, vehicle kicked off a bid to become a sizable global copper producer, starting with the acquisition of Turkey’s Gediktepe mine from Lidya’s parent company Calik. The bonds are secured against the Gediktepe mine vertical. 

The notes were privately placed and should begin trading on the Nordic market in the second half of 2025, Volynets said. The bonds are currently mainly held by Europe and U.S.-based blue chip investors, he said, adding that some holders have begun to meet with the company. ACG is starting to look at selecting a ratings agency to obtain a credit rating for the notes, he added. 

The 14.75% yield at issuance on the current 2028 bond reflects a trade-off ACG chose to make between timing and price, Volynets said. Securing bank financing would have taken several months longer and delayed the build-out of the Gediktepe project, costing the company more than the delta between cheaper bank financing and the bond, he explained. ACG also chose not to take a financing offer from a private credit fund that was more expensive. 

ACG plans to fund its ambitious acquisition plans – which include a target to become the producer of as much as 1% of the world’s copper by 2030 – in part through debt. The company may issue more bonds secured against new mining verticals as it acquires them, Volynets said. ACG would expect debt to account for some 60% of the funding for its next acquisitions, he added. 

ACG is the only mining sector company to have listed on the LSE through a SPAC process. There is currently very limited liquidity in the London-listed stocks, but the company is fully financed on a base case and expects the share price to re rate to peers over the next 12 months to 18 months, Volynets said, adding that comparable companies are trading at 3x to 5x times multiples. 

Earlier this week, ACG announced that it intends to launch a tender offer for up to 26.9 million public warrants, sponsor warrants, and private placement warrants, together representing around 70% of all the company’s warrants, as reported. The exchange offer will result in warrant holders owning approximately 12.4% of ACG Metals’ post-transaction share capital. Three major shareholders who also hold the majority of the company’s warrants are backing the swap terms. 

ACG says it will take a year to convert the Gediktepe mine from producing gold and silver to primarily copper and zinc concentrate, with gold and silver as a by-product. Once converted, the base case EBITDA at the mine is $100 million, Volynets said. 

Yesterday, Jan. 30, the company announced the appointment of former U.S. Secretary of State and former CIA director Mike Pompeo to its board, as a non-executive director. Pompeo joins the board as part of a strategic partnership between ACG and Impact Investments, where he is executive chairman. Impact “will advise and assist ACG as it pursues its ambitious plan to become a leading global copper company serving US and Western industrial supply chains,” according to the announcement.

To top