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Escrow Watch
Escrow Watch is Stockhead’s monthly recap of the ASX companies that are releasing shares currently in escrow (also known as restricted securities) over the coming weeks.
ASX shares in escrow are “locked away” and not listed on the bourse so owners can’t sell them – until they’re released.
This is intended to depict to would-be investors when raising capital that the management and previous investors are still backing the venture and aren’t raising capital just so they can “sell out”.
While there’s no guarantee holders of escrowed shares will sell at that point, the mere fact that they will be able to is worth knowing – particularly if shares have substantially moved one way or the other.
Click here for a more detailed description of the ASX rules surrounding escrow arrangements. There is certainly no shortage of companies releasing shares at the end of August and into September.
Minerals exploration company with a portfolio of gold and copper projects Alice Queen (ASX:AQX) will release 2.5 million fully paid ordinary shares from voluntary escrow today. The shares are already quoted on the ASX.
AQX was one of the first to release shares in FY23.
Logistics business Silk Logistics Holdings Limited (ASX: SLH) will release 30,631,303 shares, which it said were classified as restricted securities at the time that the Company was admitted to the official list of ASX in July, 2021.
Online property PEXA Group (ASX:PXA) will release 3,269,494 fully paid ordinary shares from voluntary escrow on August 26 and 64,709 on 29 August.
PEXA assist lawyers, conveyancers, banks and other professionals lodge transfer documents with land registries and complete financial settlements digitally. Link Administrative Holdings (ASX:LNK) has a major stake in the company of more than 42% and counts it as one of its main assets.
Athena Resources (ASX:AHN) will release 20 million fully paid ordinary shares. AHN is an Australian ASX listed explorer and developer, focused on the ‘Byro’ project in WA, which includes iron ore, copper, PGE, and graphite targets.
The company re-listed on the ASX in November last year with its share price increasing ~30% in 2022.
White Cliff Minerals (ASX: WCN) will release 50 million ordinary shares from voluntary shares. It’s been a good week for the battery metals/critical minerals explorer , which is on the ground at the early stage Yinnetharra rare earths and lithium project in WA.
WCN’s share price rose ~67% on Thursday after announcing a new batch of “expedited” rock chip samples returned results up to 780ppm rare earths.
Online education platform company Keypath Education (ASX:KED) will release more than 146 million CHESS depository interests (CDIs).
The CDIs include 141,687,978 held by Sterling Funds (held via AVI Mezz Co.L.P.) and 4,681,209 held by Global CEO Steve Fireng, who will continue to hold 4,681,210 CDIs subject to voluntary escrow.
Drilling company DDH1 Limited (ASX: DDH) will release 65,056,580 fully paid ordinary shares from voluntary escrow. The shares were subject to voluntary escrow when DDH1 was admitted to the ASX in March 2021.
The shares will be be released from voluntary escrow on August 30 being the date that the company will release its audited financial results for FY22. The shares to be released from escrow include 56,983,251 shares held by the founders and 8,073,329 shares held by management.
These shares are quoted on the ASX.
WA base and precious metals exploration and development company Boab Metals Limited (ASX: BML) will release 1,186,521 ordinary shares from voluntary escrow. The shares were issued as part of the settlement for the Manbarrum acquisition announced in July 2021.
Vendors of the Manbarrum exploration assets agreed to enter into a 12-month voluntary escrow arrangement.
Global luxury online retailer Cettire (ASX:CTT) will release 62,809,555 fully paid ordinary shares held by founder and CEO Dean Mintz, from voluntary escrow. The shares will be released on August 30, being the date FY22 results for CTT are intended to be released to the ASX. In a further statement to the ASX Cettire said Mintz has no plans to sell the shares released from escrow.
The company has seen its share price rise up ~90% in the past month.
Oil and gas explorer TMK Energy (ASX:TMK) will release 192,131,500 fully paid listed ordinary shares from voluntary escrow. TMK recently announced it will partner with PetroChina subsidiary DATAMO to “enhance and accelerate” development of the Gurvantes XXXV coal seam gas project in Mongolia.
TMK currently has 3,520,781,250 shares on issue.
Diagnostics test technology company Lumos Diagnostics (ASX: LDX) will release 7,823,594 fully paid ordinary shares will be released from escrow on 31 August 2022. Lumos listed on the ASX in July 2021.
Lumos recently announced it had received US$270k in purchase orders for the manufacture of a unique, multi-assay, rapid diagnostic cartridge. The cartridge is expected to be used in combination with a customised Lumos digital reader platform as part of a novel hormone monitoring platform.
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited (ASX:BEN) will release 4,001,042 fully paid ordinary shares from voluntary escrow, issued on 1 September 2021 to the previous owners of Ferocia Pty Ltd as consideration for the acquisition of all the shares in Ferocia.
Under the terms of the sale agreement the previous owners of Ferocia have also agreed that $6.5 million worth of fully paid shares in the bank they hold will remain subject to further voluntary escrow restrictions until 1 September 2026. The number of shares to be determined will be based on the volume weighted average price of shares traded on ASX over the 30 trading days ending on, and including, 30 August 2022.
Ai-Media Technologies (ASX: AIM) will release 23,326,728 fully paid ordinary AIM shares from voluntary escrow. The company said the shares were held by certain founders, directors, senior management, employees and the vendor of the ACS business.
The company said of the shares being released AIM’s two largest shareholders, being co-founder and CEO Tony Abrahams and chair Deanne Weir have each advised they don’t intend to sell any until at least after release of half yearly results in February 2023.
AIM recently announced it had inked a multi-year agreement with global tech giant Google to the value of up to US$5 million over the three-year term of the agreement. Ai-Media will become Google’s lead global provider of live captioning and translation services for internal meetings and events.
Lithium play Australasian Metals (ASX: A8G) advises that 500,000 ordinary shares will be released from escrow. A8G recently announced several distinct areas of geochemical anomalism have been identified within soils via the mobile metal ion (MMI) sampling technique using Ionic Leach at the Mt Peake Lithium Project in the Northern Arunta pegmatite province in the Northern Territory.
The company’s share price has risen 18% in the past month.
Mineral explorer IRIS Metals (ASX:IR1) will release 300,000 shares from escrow. The company will apply to have the shares quoted. IRIS recently announced it had grown its South Dakota footprint in the US by 290% through newly staked claims under its control, securing highly mineralised corridors of spodumene bearing lithium-cesium-tantalum pegmatites.
IRIS now controls 2,056 claims (an increase of 1,531 new claims) covering approximately 42,287 acres or 171km2 in the historic mining region of the Black Hills of South Dakota, USA. The company’s share price has risen ~200% in the past month to 90 cents.
Escrow Watch
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