Nova Minerals (ASX:NVA) shares dipped nearly -3% in Friday morning trades after announcing it was closing the pre-listing IPO process for its new NASDAQ digs.
The company is listing on the tech heavy stock market at a value of only US$3.3M – firmly landing it in the nanocap end of things, Australian assets ignored.
There have been a number of Australian companies tapping US markets for greater liquidity YTD. This comes at the same time as the ASX’s overall newsflow volume day-by-day has pretty much halved compared to this time last year.
A slowdown on the ASX has seen household name stocks and fleeting darlings like Droneshield see massive liquidity – as well as the Guzman Y Gomez listing.
That a Mexican fast food chain was one of the biggest market stories this year probably exemplifies just how little is going on.
Telix Pharmaceuticals yesterday was punished by shareholders after it ditched its US listing plans, but Tamboran Energy – set to drill the Beetaloo Basin, tipped as Australia’s next big gas find – has been faring suitably since it recently moved stateside.
At any rate, Nova will list depositary assets on the NASDAQ at an ADS-to-ordinary-share ratio of 1 to 60, making each ADI worth US$6.92 for gross proceeds around A$5M.
It’s worrying to wonder why, exactly, the company has had to go to the US to raise a relatively paltry $5M.
“A US listing has been our goal for a long time as the logical next step with our flagship Estelle Gold Project being a North American asset and an increasing US investor base,” Nova CEO Christopher Gerteisen said.
“We believe this can be a catalyst to create further shareholder value through increased exposure and liquidity available in the US market.
“The company is preparing a targeted drill program to commence shortly and continues with the critical technical studies required for the completion of a robust PFS as we progress along the path to production.”
NVA last traded at 16.5cps.