A public offer of 10 million shares by Canadian company A25 Gold Producers Corporation has been suspended yet again by the Malta Financial Services Authority.
In January this year, the company was announced as the Malta Stock Exchange’s first international listing, and 35,742,271 common shares were listed on the Exchange.
But trading in the equity, on the Alternative Companies List, has been foiled since day one, with the MFSA having suspended the public offer from the outset.
According to a statement from the MFSA this week, there appear to be concerns over the company’s compliance with Canadian securities legislation, and it refers to Article 21 of EU Directive 2003/71/EC on the provision of prospectus information, which empowers the Authority to suspend the offer until it is satisfied that the information provided in its prospectus is legitimate.
The MFSA had received information from the Ontario Securities Commission indicating concerns regarding the compliance with Canadian securities legislation by company.
In its statement this week, the MFSA explained: “To date, the authority has not received any confirmation from the Ontario Securities Commission that indicates that the concerns regarding the compliance with Canadian securities legislation by the A25 Gold Producers Corp have been resolved. Consequently, the suspension of the public offer will be extended for an additional 10 working days from the expiration of the latest suspension period, until 18 July.”
The offer had been suspended since 11 January, and the suspension has been subsequently renewed.
The company is registered in Canada and was previously quoted on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The transfer to Malta had been made possible because of the EU passporting directive, which allows the free movement of regulated financial instruments across the EU as well as the international custodial relationships in place at the Exchange’s Central Securities Depository.
The A25 Gold Producers Corporation, a company based in British Columbia, says it is in the business of commercialising gold and silver properties that had been active mines in the past but which were under-exploited.
According to the company, its properties are located in the Zeballos area near the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The properties are grouped into one contiguous area giving the company extensive claims over lands that the provincial mining authority has identified as an area that can be expected to meet previous production records.
But interested parties speaking with this newspaper have expressed doubt as to whether any of the properties owned by the company in Canada are producing gold or have ever done so in the first place.