Global law firm Ashurst is advising Sandfire Resources Limited (Sandfire) on a US$650 million syndicated debt facility and A$200 million corporate debt facility for the purpose of partly funding Sandfire’s acquisition of Spanish mining complex Minas De Aguas Teñidas (MATSA) from Trafigura and Mubadala Investment Company.
Sandfire has entered into a binding sale and purchase agreement to acquire 100% of MATSA for a total consideration of US$1.9 billion (A$2.6 billion). It will fund the transaction through a combination of a US$650 million syndicated and underwritten debt facility secured by MATSA, a A$1.2 billion fully underwritten equity raising, A$297 million from existing cash reserves and the drawdown of A$200 million corporate debt facility.
The transaction delivers Sandfire the MATSA mining complex in Spain, which comprises three underground mining operations feeding a 4.7Mtpa central processing facility producing 100-120ktpa CuEq per annum. As a result, Sandfire will become one of Australia’s largest copper focussed producers.
Partner Gaelan Cooney commented:
“We are very pleased to advise Sandfire on the debt financing of the transformational acquisition of the MATSA mining complex in Spain.”
The Ashurst team was led by partners Gaelan Cooney (Projects, Perth), Adrian Lawrence (Projects, London) and José Christian Bertram (Global Loans, Madrid). The team included partners Matthew Wood, counsel Marina Tinning and Borja Vázquez, associates Ffion Archer and Juan Aznar, junior associate Ignacio Piñeiro, and solicitor Olufemi Omosuyi.
