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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.
Copper-nickel explorer GreenTech Metals (ASX:GRE) will release 3,705,000 fully paid ordinary shares from escrow on May 7.
The Artemis Resources (ASX:ARV) spinout listed on the ASX on January 11 and is interested in battery-facing metals like copper and nickel.
Among its targets is the Whundo copper mine, which already contains an indicated JORC 2012 resource of 2.7Mt at 1.14% copper and 1.14% zinc, along with the Ruth Well deposit, which holds 152,000t at 0.5% copper and 0.6% nickel.
GreenTech Metals was up 37.5% to 27.5c at the close of its first day of trade. However, it has since slipped back ~29% since its initial listing and is trading at ~20 cents.
GreenTech Metals has a market cap of ~$5.38 million.
Felix Gold (ASX:FXG) has options and fully paid ordinary shares due to be released from escrow on May 7.
The company will release 1,047,893 22.5c options, expiring December 31, 2024 and 1,047,893 27c options, expiring December 31, 2024.
Felix also has 4,666,668 fully paid ordinary shares being released.
The company last month announced drilling had started at its Treasure Creek Project within the Fairbanks Gold Mining District of Alaska.
Felix said the initial program is focused on several prospect areas across the company’s claims and is planned for ~7000 drilling metres with strong evidence of potential large-scale gold systems.
The company’s share price has fallen ~21% in the past year to ~14 cents. It has a market cap of ~$10.27 million.
Mineral exploration and developer Mt Monger Resources (ASX:MTM) has 1,250,000 fully paid ordinary shares to be released from escrow on May 10.
The company announced 9,272,500 fully paid ordinary shares remain subject to mandatory and voluntary escrow due to be released later this year and in 2023.
Mt Monger is focused on gold, lithium and other precious metals discoveries. The company’s projects comprise the Mt Monger Gold Project and the East Laverton Gold Project in WA.
In April Mt Monger announced it had secured a key piece of ground at its Ravensthorpe Project, also in WA.
The company applied for a tenement located in the centre of the Young River prospect, a known nickel mineralisation area which contains ultramafic rocks interpreted to be the continuation of the Lake Johnston greenstone belt – plus it’s prospective for lithium, graphite and rare earth elements (REE).
Mt Monger’s share price has increased ~23% in the past year to ~18 cents. It has a market cap of ~$6.24 million.
Engineering service provider Remsense Technologies (ASX:REM) has announced it has 2,904,751 unlisted options being released from escrow on May 10. The options are exercisable at 25 cents each on or before June 30, 2023.
Remsense focuses on imaging for mine sites and oil rigs. The company floated on the ASX on November 2, 2021 with a share price of 45 cents, up 125% from its offer price of 20 cents per share.
However, since its IPO, Remsense’s share price has plummeted ~45% to ~29 cents. It has a market cap of ~$9.54 million.
Ark Mines (ASX:AHK) has announced 250,000 options of Henry Presser will be released from escrow on May 10.
Gunnawarra borders Australian Mines’ (ASX:AUZ) Sconi project, one of the most advanced cobalt-nickel scandium projects in Australia.
Ark announced in April it had drilled into extensive nickel and cobalt in laterites at Gunnawarra down to 60m depth. This was deeper than anticipated and prompted the company to expand the drilling program.
The company’s share price is up ~94.74% in the past year to ~37 cents. It has a market capitalisation of $12.32 million.
Iron ore explorer and miner Iron Road (ASX:IRD) has announced 456,116 fully paid ordinary shares subject to voluntary escrow will be released after May 10.
Iron Road owns the Central Eyre Iron Project near Warramboo in South Australia. Its share price soared ~11% to 20 cents on Thursday on no news.
However, the company’s share price overall has fallen ~20% in the past year. It has a market cap of ~$151.27 million.
Cybersecurity company Tesserent (ASX:TNT) has announced it will release 21,072,986 fully paid ordinary shares from voluntary escrow on May 10.
A further 3,198,293 fully paid ordinary Tesserent shares will be released from voluntary escrow on June 15.
Despite focus on the sector, the Tesserent share price has dropped ~30% in the past year to ~16 cents. The company has a market cap of ~$190 million.
iTech Minerals (ASX:ITM) has 2,333,337 fully paid ordinary shares due for release from escrow on May 10.
The company recently announced it had achieved a significant milestone at its Campoona Spherical Graphite Project in South Australia with production of a >94% TGC concentrate and recoveries of ~84% using an industry standard floation circuit.
iTech is focused on a broad range of minerals for the growing battery materials and renewable energy markets, including the Campoona project and halloysite-kaolinite projects in SA.
iTech’s share price has risen ~159% to ~57 cents in the past year. It has a market cap of ~$50.44 million.
Pacific Nickel Mines Limited (ASX: PNM) has 8,375,000 fully paid ordinary shares being released from voluntary escrow on May 12. The company said shares were originally issued to the vendors of the Kolosori Nickel Project in May 2021.
The company’s share price has risen ~148% in the past year to ~9.9 cents. It has a market cap of ~$27.15 million.
BNPL Player Zip Co (ASX:ZIP) will make a series of releases of large volumes of ordinary shares from voluntary escrow in May, going into June.
The company said 7,457,891 shares will be released on May 12. The shares are currently quoted on the ASX and were issued on November 12, 2021 in connection with Zip Co’s acquisition of Twisto Payments.
A further 1,501,216 ordinary shares will be released on May 23. The shares are quoted on the ASX and were issued on October 18, 2021 in connection with the company’s acquisition of Spotii Holdings.
Heading into next month and 13,203,728 ordinary shares will be released from voluntary escrow on June 1. The shares are currently quoted on the ASX and were issued on August 31 2020 in connection with Zip Co’s acquisition of QuadPay Inc.
The Zip Co share price has tumbled ~85% in the past year to ~$1.06. The company has a market cap of ~$724.61 million.
Large scale uranium miner Paladin Energy (ASX:PDN) has 14,250,000 ordinary shares being released from voluntary escrow on May 13.
Paladin recently raised $200 million from investors to support the planned restart of the Langer-Heinrich uranium mine in Namibia by 2024. The company founded by John Borshoff in 1993 grew substantially during the last uranium boom in the late 2000s.
The company’s share price has risen ~59% in the past year to 82 cents. It has a market cap of ~$2.42 billion.
Athena Resources (ASX:AHN) has 6,857,143 fully paid ordinary shares due to be released from voluntary escrow on May 14.
In March, Athena announced positive results at its Byro Base Metals project in Western Australia’s Murchison region. Initial drilling returned high grade graphite results at the Milly Milly target area.
The company also announced in March encouraging copper and PGE results at the Moonsborough Intrusion.
Athena will be hoping for more positive news to lift its share price which has fallen ~20% in the past year to ~0.008 cents. The company has a market cap of ~$5.20 million.
Troubled E&P Financial Group (ASX:EP1) has 14,328,486 ordinary shares being released from escrow on May 2022. The company said they represent consideration shares issued to the vendors of Fort Street Advisers and Fort Street Capital as part of the company’s investment in September 2018.
E&P (formerly known as Evans Dixon) has not had a good time of late. Its subsidiary self-managed super fund provider Dixon Advisory announced in January it was entering voluntary administration. In April Dixon Advisory had its Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) suspended by ASIC.
E&P Financials share price has fallen ~11% in the past year to ~54 cents. It has a market cap of $~127.18.
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