Atome raises £1.8m to expedite Villetta Project

(Sharecast News) - Green fertiliser specialist Atome has raised £1.8m before expenses, it announced on Monday, to expedite its Villetta Project in Paraguay. The AIM-traded firm said the fundraising involved the issue of 3,600,000 new shares at a price of 50p each.

It was facilitated through a company-led subscription, under which certain directors and senior management of Atome, alongside other investors, participated, as well as a placing conducted by SP Angel Corporate Finance acting as the sole broker.

Under the subscription, directors and senior management subscribed for £0.67m worth of shares.

The placing, which saw the issue of 2,000,000 additional shares to investors at the same price of 50p apiece, was fully taken up.

Atome said it retained the option, within the directors' current authorities, to allocate further new shares at the placing price, subject to demand, which would be communicated promptly to the market.

The board said the completion of this fundraising underscored investor confidence in Atome's vision and its flagship phase one 145MW Villeta Project in Paraguay.

It said the project, already contracted under a signed power purchase agreement, was progressing with the front-end engineering and design (FEED) study nearing completion.

The company said it aimed for the completion of FEED, engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC), offtake and financing in 2024, with full production slated to start in 2026.

"The company will use the funds raised from the fundraising to further expedite its growth and development of the green fertiliser Villeta Project in Paraguay, including engineering and design works as well as for working capital," the board said in its statement.

"Since admission to AIM at the end of December 2021, Atome has made significant progress, substantially beyond the board's initial expectations at the time of the initial public offering, and within this short time is now at the forefront in developing large-scale production projects of green fertiliser in Latin and Central America.

"The significant further participation of directors and senior management in this fundraising demonstrates their ongoing financial support for the company as shareholders and conviction in the future success of Atome."

Atome said it now had a global pipeline of green projects of over 600MW, of which the flagship phase one 145 MW Villeta Project in Paraguay was legally contracted under a signed power purchase agreement with the FEED study already commissioned and soon to be completed.

"All of EPC, offtake and financing is targeted for 2024, with start of full production in 2026 when Atome will become one of the largest producers of green fertiliser in the world."

At 1535 GMT, shares in Atome were down 9.82% at 50.5p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.