Fording Announces Closing of $105 Million Offering of Trust Units
16 Aprile 2004 - 4:13PM
PR Newswire (US)
Fording Announces Closing of $105 Million Offering of Trust Units
CALGARY, April 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Fording Canadian Coal
Trust (TSX: FDG.UN, NYSE: FDG) today announced that it has closed
the public offering announced on March 29, 2004. In connection with
the offering, a total of 2,000,000 previously unissued trust units
were sold to a syndicate of underwriters on a bought deal basis, at
a price of $52.50 per trust unit for gross proceeds of
CDN$105,000,000. The underwriting syndicate was led by RBC Capital
Markets. The other members of the underwriting syndicate were CIBC
World Markets Inc., Scotia Capital Inc., BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc.,
HSBC Securities (Canada) Inc., National Bank Financial Inc., TD
Securities Inc. and Salman Partners Inc. Fording Canadian Coal
Trust intends to use the net proceeds of the offering to make a
further investment in Fording Inc., its wholly-owned subsidiary.
Fording Inc. will use such further investment to pay down
indebtedness. This reduced level of indebtedness is expected to
provide Fording Inc. with a greater range of financing alternatives
with respect to funding its portion of the recently announced
development of the Cheviot Creek pit that forms part of the
Cardinal River operations owned by Elk Valley Coal Partnership. The
trust units have not been, and will not be, registered under the
United States Securities Act of 1933 and may not be offered or sold
in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption
from the registration requirements of such Act. The trust units are
being offered only by means of a prospectus. Accordingly, this
press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the
solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of
these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer,
solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to qualification under
the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. Fording Canadian Coal
Trust is an open-ended mutual fund trust. Through investments in
metallurgical coal and industrial minerals mining and processing
operations, the Trust makes quarterly cash distributions to
unitholders. The Trust, through its wholly-owned subsidiary,
Fording Inc., holds a 65% ownership interest in the Elk Valley Coal
Partnership and is the world's largest producer of the industrial
mineral wollastonite. Elk Valley Coal Partnership, comprised of
Canada's senior metallurgical coal mining properties, is the
world's second largest exporter of metallurgical coal, capable of
supplying approximately 25 million tonnes of high-quality coal
products annually to the international steel industry. DATASOURCE:
Fording Canadian Coal Trust CONTACT: Mark Gow, CA, Controller,
Fording Canadian Coal Trust, (403) 260-9834,
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