Done deal: Salt Lake Potash sells to Czech buyer Sev.en

AFR, Sept 19 2022                            Link to the original article

Czech family-owned energy investments business Sev.en Global Investments has emerged as the buyer for bankrupt ASX-listed Salt Lake Potash, securing its second deal Down Under in the space of a few days.

Street Talk understands Sev.en will take control of the Salt Lake Potash’s assets in a deal signed last week, but still yet to the announced to equity investors.

The sale price wasn’t known as at Monday evening, but Salt Lake’s lenders would be hoping for at least $160 million to repay their debts.

It spells the end of a nearly year-long saga at Salt Lake Potash, which was pitching itself as the first Australian producer of sulphate of potash before it hit the skids with too much debt and operational troubles at its flagship project Lake Way in Western Australia last year.

It has had restructuring firm KordaMentha calling the shots as receiver since last October, 2021, while KPMG was administrator and Macquarie Capital tasked with running the sale.

It’s the second deal this week for Sev.en, which picked up Delta Electricity, which owns the Vales Point power station in NSW, in a deal revealed by The Australian Financial Review on Sunday.

The listed Salt Lake Potash had a $250 million market capitalisation prior to hitting the skids, and counted Ellerston Capital and Swiss firm Lombard Odier Asset Management among investors. Lenders included Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Taurus Funds Management and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.