London-listed gold explorer Hamak Gold Limited has changed directions and is now adopting a bitcoin treasury management policy, news that sent its shares up 6%. The company is now combining its traditional gold exploration with digital assets.
The news comes after Hamak raised £2.47 million through a placing and subscription round, pricing new shares at 0.8p – a 27% discount to its close on July 2.
As part of the fundraise, Hamak issued 308,375,000 new ordinary shares, 68.2% of its enlarged share capital.
Each new share includes a free 1-for-1 warrant at the issue price that investors can exercise for 2 years. Existing shareholders will also get equivalent warrants, with eligibility determined by holdings as of July 2.
The company is now operating on two tracks: gold exploration and a bitcoin treasury. Hamak Gold’s Executive Chairman Nick Thurlow said:
“With the injection of additional capital, we are now well-positioned to pursue two core objectives in parallel: Maximising our gold exploration opportunities and leading the UK market in bitcoin treasury management as a Main Market-listed company.”
The share issue hit regulatory hurdles due to UK listing rules, which would have required an FCA-approved prospectus for all shares to be admitted directly to trading.
As a workaround, the new shares were temporarily allocated to two new directors, Nick Thurlow and James Lawrence. They agreed to resell 283 million of those shares to investors at the original discounted price.
This is seen as a clever solution under the tight UK regulations surrounding bitcoin-linked equity. Legal observers have said Hamak’s workaround could be a template for other companies in the same situation.
Related: Gold Mining Developer Bluebird Ventures Unveils Bitcoin Reserve Plan
The company witnessed a leadership change following the resignation of Executive Chairman Amara Kamara and Non-Executive Director Niall Young.
Thurlow and Lawrence have taken over as executive chairman and executive director, respectively. Thurlow was previously CFO at Dubai-based MBS Global Investments, a company linked to the Qatari royal family.
MBS Global Investments, part of the Private Office of Sheikh Nayef Bin Eid Al Thani, a member of the Qatari royal family, invested £100,000 in the round. This brings institutional credibility to Hamak’s bitcoin play.
MBS’s investment also shows Middle Eastern investors are getting interested in digital assets through London-listed companies.
Hamak has submitted the necessary paperwork to the FCA and London Stock Exchange to admit the new shares under the equity shares (transition) category. Trading is expected to start very soon.
This is not the only UK-listed company to embrace bitcoin as a corporate treasury asset. Several other London-based companies have made similar announcements in the last 2 weeks.
Hamak is following in the footsteps of U.S.-based business intelligence firm Strategy, led by Bitcoin advocate Michael Saylor, but with a European twist.
Other UK companies are already on the trend:
Panther Metals, after reporting a £2.2 million loss, bought its first bitcoin and plans to build up £4 million worth of holdings.
Bluebird Mining Ventures raised £2 million in debt to buy bitcoin and is now looking to raise another £10 million. The company had previously reported a $898,000 loss.
Vinanz, originally a bitcoin mining company, has continued to grow its bitcoin reserves, now totaling $3.85 million.
Smarter Web Company, a website building business, saw its market cap go up to £806.2 million after announcing its bitcoin treasury plans in April.
