Cobalt Holdings Plans IPO on LSE to Raise $230 Million
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Global Business Magazine- 4 minutes read
The London-headquartered Cobalt Holdings plc, which purchase and hold physical cobalt and the only company offering public equity investors pure-play direct exposure to the price of cobalt, on Monday announced its intention to raise approximately $230 million on London Stock Exchange (LSE). The admission is expected to occur in June 2025.
Cobalt Holdings will be the only company offering public equity investors pure-play exposure to cobalt, a ‘Strategic Raw Material,’ without the direct risks and liabilities associated with cobalt exploration, development or mining operations
Current oversupply in the cobalt market presents a significant opportunity to acquire cobalt below long-term average prices, with demand expected to increase from multiple end-use industrial applications such as the production of high-performance batteries: a core component of electric vehicles (EVs), portable electronics and energy storage systems (ESS).
Glencore International (Glencore) and certain entities and affiliates managed by Anchorage Structured Commodities Advisor, have agreed to participate as cornerstone investors, agreeing to invest, in aggregate, an amount representing approximately 20.5% of the shares to be offered pursuant to the Global Offer
The company has secured six-year supply contract with Glencore, providing guaranteed supply of premium-grade cobalt worth up to $1 billion and a further supply contract to acquire up to 1,500 tonnes of cobalt from Anchorage in 2031.
Stockpiling Cobalt
Cobalt Holdings CEO Jake Greenberg said that their strategy was to provide equity investors with direct, pure-play exposure to the price of cobalt through a low-risk, low-cost business model that sees us buying physical cobalt and holding it for the long-term.
“We believe it is the right time to build a strategic stockpile of cobalt. The long-term price of cobalt has historically been well above the prevailing spot price. Congo has begun to impose export restrictions, reducing metal supply, while demand for cobalt more than doubled between 2015 and 2024, and is expected to rise by more than 54%, from 94,000 tonnes to 239,000 tonnes, between 2024 and 2031, primarily on the back of accelerating EV battery demand growth,” Greenberg said.
Cobalt Holdings will acquire 6,000 tonnes of cobalt, equating to approximately 33% of the cobalt surplus supply in 2025, and looking forward, the global cobalt demand to rise more sharply to 369,480 tonnes by 2031, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.
“We anticipate that supply and demand will come back into balance over the coming years and will create the necessary conditions to incentivise investment in new mines and refining capacity in the West, all of which are essential to deliver the energy transition,” he pointed out.
Cobalt Holdings has committed to store its cobalt in secure facilities located in Belgium, Netherlands, Singapore and South Korea, reducing geopolitical risk. It also has stock only insurance which covers all interests, primarily metals, handled by the Company during their business operations or in their care, custody, or control.
