Aminex, the listed Irish oil and gas explorer with operations in Africa, fell 14 per cent in London yesterday after it announced plans for a significant share placing to raise almost £9 million (€10.3 million). The placing and open share offer to investors is to help fund exploration in Tanzania, it said. Aminex hopes to raise £6.9 through a placing of over 116 million new ordinary shares for a nominal value of six pence each, accounting for approximately 47 per cent of the company’s issued share capital.

The open offer involves 30 million shares to be issued on a “one-for-eight” basis with a nominal value of six pence, with the company saying the amount raised will not exceed £1.8 million. Shares purchased as part of the placing will not carry entitlements to the open offer.

The offer represents a discount of 25 per cent on the share’s closing price on Monday, when it closed at eight pence. Yesterday, the shares ended the day at seven pence.