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2013-11-21 08:00:56 CET 2013-11-21 08:02:08 CET REGULATED INFORMATION Talvivaaran Kaivososakeyhtiö Oyj - Company AnnouncementTalvivaara Mining Company continues to assess all funding options available for a corporate reorganisationStock Exchange Release Talvivaara Mining Company Plc 21 November 2013 Talvivaara continues to assess all funding options available for a corporate reorganisation Current cash position anticipated to be sufficient clearly into the first quarter of 2014, although funding commitment from certain stakeholders previously approached was not obtained On 15 November 2013, Talvivaara Mining Company Plc ("Talvivaara") and its operating subsidiary Talvivaara Sotkamo Ltd (together, the "Talvivaara Group") both applied for a corporate reorganisation pursuant to the Finnish Corporate Reorganization Act by filing related applications with the district court of Espoo, Finland. Talvivaara also announced that the Talvivaara Group expected to require additional liquidity during the reorganisation proceedings for the payment of costs of the reorganisation proceedings and payment of new indebtedness incurred after the filing for reorganisation. Towards this goal, Talvivaara made a financing proposal to a group of stakeholders for additional funding in the form of a €40 million restructuring facility with Talvivaara as the guarantor and Talvivaara Sotkamo Ltd as the borrower. Late on 20 November 2013, such stakeholders informed Talvivaara that they were unable to offer any additional funding to support the reorganisation process. As a result of this information, Talvivaara is currently assessing all options available to the Talvivaara Group, including the adequacy for the reorganisation process of its own cash available. On 15 November 2013, Talvivaara also announced plans for the rationalisation of its operations. These actions are expected to increase productivity and, together with a short-term shut-down of the Talvivaara Group's metals recovery plant and discontinuation of its ore production for approximately six months, reduce the Talvivaara Group's operating expenses during the period it expects to need to attract long-term capital and to right-size its capital structure as part of the corporate reorganisation process. Talvivaara estimates that, as a result of these measures and the filing for corporate reorganisation by Talvivaara and Talvivaara Sotkamo Ltd, the Talvivaara Group's current combined cash position will be sufficient without additional external funding until clearly in the first quarter of 2014 and will thus facilitate the corporate reorganisation process. Talvivaara continues to believe that bankruptcy proceedings of either company would have a material value destructing effect and, therefore, would not be in the best interests of the Talvivaara Group and its stakeholders. Bankruptcy proceedings would endanger the employment of the employees of the Talvivaara Group and of many of its suppliers and contractors. Talvivaara also continues to believe that the environmental impact of a bankruptcy would be difficult to manage and that corporate reorganisation proceedings and continued production at the Sotkamo site would best facilitate water treatment and other environmental clean-up and would also provide the best possibility to preserve value for various stakeholders. Under the circumstances, there can be no assurance that Talvivaara and Talvivaara Sotkamo Ltd will be admitted to corporate reorganisation proceedings or that their corporate reorganisation, if commenced, is ultimately successful. The corporate reorganisation process can fail for a number of reasons, including insufficiency of funds to complete the reorganisation proceedings, unforeseen operational or environmental issues facing Talvivaara's production facilities, changes in the operating environment affecting the financial viability of Talvivaara and various other factors. If Talvivaara and Talvivaara Sotkamo Ltd are not admitted to corporate reorganisation proceedings or, if commenced, such corporate reorganisation proceedings fail for these or any other reasons, Talvivaara and Talvivaara Sotkamo Ltd would expect to file for bankruptcy proceedings unless other alternatives have materialised by that time. Enquiries Talvivaara Mining Company Plc Tel +358 20 7129 800 Pekka Perä, CEO Saila Miettinen-Lähde, Deputy CEO and CFO Talvivaara Mining Company Plc Talvivaara Mining Company is an internationally significant base metals producer with its primary focus on nickel and zinc using a technology known as bioheapleaching to extract metals out of ore. Bioheapleaching makes extraction of metals from low grade ore economically viable. The Talvivaara deposits comprise one of the largest known sulphide nickel resources in Europe. The ore body is estimated to support anticipated production for several decades. Talvivaara has secured a 10-year off-take agreement for 100 per cent of its main output of nickel and cobalt to Norilsk Nickel and entered into a long-term zinc streaming agreement with Nyrstar. Talvivaara is listed on the London Stock Exchange Main Market and NASDAQ OMX Helsinki. Further information can be found at www.talvivaara.com [HUG#1744776] |
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