Azzet reports on three stocks with price moving updates today.
Vulcan Energy tanks after announcing major insto share placement ~
Shares in Vulcan Energy Resources (ASX: VUL) were trading 31.5% lower by 2:25 pm AEDT (3:25 am GMT) after the Gina-Rinehart mid-cap lithium developer announced a major fundraising to finance its Phase One Lionheart lithium and renewable energy project.
The market’s reaction to today’s announcement has less to do with the Lionheart project and more to do with the manner in which funds are being raised.
The company resumed trading today following revelations it had raised €398 million ($710 million) by issuing a whopping 178 million new shares through a fully underwritten institutional placement offer at $4.00 a share.
Today’s announcement has clearly left existing shareholders scratching their heads, with the offer being 35% lower than its Tuesday closing price of $6.13.
At face value, today’s announced insto share placement appears to be a deal within which everyone wins – except existing shareholders – which explains the massive sell off at the open.
It’s not unusual for the share price to come under pressure following a new share issuance, but the magnitude of this placement puts a lot of pressure on Vulcan’s Lionheart lithium to deliver on market expectations.
Issuing new shares increases the total number of outstanding shares, which in turn reduces each existing shareholder's percentage of ownership and control.
Unsurprisingly, given how it was structured, the institutional offer received strong support and complements the major finance package Vulcan announced yesterday following the board's positive final investment decision (FID) on the project.
Today’s announced institutional offer follows German government grants totalling 204 million euros (A$364 million) and a 133 million euros (A$238 million) investment from a consortium for a 15% equity interest in the Phase One Lionheart Project.
The capital raise is part of a larger 2,200 million euro financing package that includes senior debt funding and government grants.
Existing institutional shareholders took up 23.2 million shares, with the remainder subscribed by new local and global institutions.
Settlement is scheduled for December 10, with trading of new shares expected to begin on 12 December.
Proceeds, together with the broader €2.2 billion ($3.9 billion) Phase One financing package, are expected to fully fund Vulcan’s Phase One Lionheart lithium and renewable energy project through construction, commissioning, and start-up.
Commenting on today’s announcement, CEO Cris Moreno highlighted the strategic importance of the Lionheart Project, which is poised to create Europe’s first fully domestic lithium value chain and provide renewable energy for Germany’s Upper Rhine Valley - signalling a strong future for sustainable lithium production.
“Securing this financing package and taking a positive FID is a significant achievement in the history of Vulcan Energy. It will allow the Company to transition from development phase into execution phase with the construction of the commercial scale supply chain for Lionheart,” said Moreno.
“A lighthouse project for Europe, Lionheart is set to redefine lithium production, delivering Europe's first fully domestic and sustainable lithium value chain. It will also provide a clean and reliable source of renewable energy for local communities and industries in Germany's Upper Rhine Valley.”
Vulcan Energy has a market cap of $991 million; the share price is down 33% in one year and down 30% in one week.
The stock appears to be in a long-term uptrend.
Its 200-day moving average is upwards sloping and shows that there has been investor demand for the stock over the long-term.
Consensus is Strong Buy.
Betmakers jumps on agreement with Betfair
Shares in Betmakers Technology Group (ASX: BET) were up around 6.9% after the betting technology company signed an exclusive five-year agreement with Betfair Australia to provide the full technology stack for the launch of premium wagering brand CrownBet.
Betfair, the ‘world’s largest peer-to-peer wagering platform’, is 100% owned by Crown Resorts.
The agreement will see Betmakers deliver its full wagering stack for CrownBet, including a fully customised deployment of the Company’s Apollo wagering platform, trading and risk management, content engine, and core platform technology.
The end-to-end solution is expected to position Betmakers as the technology and operational backbone of the CrownBet offering from launch.
At this stage, CrownBet is expected to return to the market in early 2026 ahead of the AFL and NRL seasons and the autumn racing season.
Establishing a landmark alignment between Betfair and its parent company, Crown Resorts, the agreement is being hailed as the most significant commercial milestone to date for the Apollo platform.
Commenting on the update today, management believes the agreement further validates Betmakers’ strategy to provide a complete, vertically integrated B2B wagering solution to Tier-1 operators globally.
“To be selected by Betfair to power the return of CrownBet demonstrates the scalability, performance and commercial flexibility of our technology stack,” said Betmakers COO, Martin Tripp.
“By combining our Apollo platform with deep industry expertise and talent within Betfair, we are confident we can deliver a market-leading wagering experience and help to position CrownBet as a formidable player in the Australian market."
Originally established as BetEzy, CrownBet was a joint venture between billionaire James Packer, the then-owner of Crown Resorts and renowned bookmaker Matthew Tripp.
Crown Resorts offloaded its stake in the business in late 2017 for $150 million, but it will be revived under private equity giant Blackstone, the new owners of Crown Resorts.
Betfair CEO Amy Zavros told the market today that the company is evolving to meet the changing needs of Australian customers by introducing a new fixed odds product under the CrownBet brand and requires a technology partner capable of delivering a top-tier product from day one.
Betmakers, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development and provision of software, data, and analytics products for the B2B wagering market in Australia, NZ, the U.S, the United Kingdom, Europe, and internationally.
While the company announced a latest loss of $26 million for the full year FY25, hospitality analysts expect the company to incur a final loss in 2026, before generating positive profits of $2.3 million in FY27.
The company has no debt on its balance sheet, which is rare for a loss-making growth company, which usually has a high level of debt relative to its equity.
Betmakers Technology Group has a market cap of $206 million; the share price is up 76% in one year and up 19% in the last week.
While the stock’s 200-day moving average is trending higher, there is significant evidence that the bullish trend is near an end.
Recent price action has shown a lack of strength as the 5-day moving average has fallen below the 50-day moving average, and the 20-day moving average is trending lower.
Consensus is Strong Buy.
Santana Minerals slips after extending high-grade gold zone at RAS North
Santana Minerals (ASX: SMI) received a relatively muted market response to the precious metal explorer’s latest drilling update today, with the share price down 0.4% this afternoon.
Management revealed exceptionally high-grade drilling results from the northern Honeypot zone of the Rise & Shine (RAS) gold system - a gold deposit in NZ - including 8.7m at 30.6g/t, 27.6m at 3.5g/t, and 12.6m at 4.2g/t.
The results confirm the continuation of the high-grade core (HG1 domain) and suggest potential for substantial underground mine-life extensions beyond the current plan.
The bonanza-grade interval in hole MDD487 sits within the high-grade HG1 domain, which hosts the core of the system and now extends at least 230m further down-plunge beyond the current underground mine design.
Additionally, aggressive step-out drilling has extended the RAS orebody down-plunge by another 190 meters, demonstrating the strength and predictability of the geological model.
The RAS deposit forms part of the wider Bendigo–Otago goldfield, one of the country’s most significant orogenic gold belts, and the new results strengthen the continuity of high-grade mineralisation along strike and at depth.
Santana plans continued step-out and infill drilling to support an expanded underground mining scenario.
Commenting on today’s result, Santana’s CEO, Damian Spring, told the market that today's results reinforce the continuity of high-grade mineralisation within the HG1 zone.
“The MDD487 interval returned a pre-top-cut grade of 40.2g/t, highlighting the strength of the system even before standard capping is applied,” he said.
“Intervals of this calibre, repeatedly observed across RAS, continue to strengthen our confidence in the geological model and the consistency of the high-grade domains.”
The company concluded the quarter with cash of $47.5 million net of payables.
Santana Minerals has a market cap of $681 million; the share price is up 69% in one year and down 1.8% in the last week.
The stock appears to be in a long-term uptrend because its 200-day moving average is upward-sloping and shows that there has been overall investor demand for the stock.
However, the stochastic oscillator is falling and indicates that there is some selling pressure.
Consensus is Strong Buy.
This article does not constitute financial or product advice. You should consider independent advice before making financial decisions.
