VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Jan. 11, 2017) - Entrée Gold Inc. (TSX:ETG)(NYSE MKT:EGI)(FRANKFURT:EKA) ("Entrée" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has closed the first of two tranches of the non-brokered private placement announced on December 15, 2016 (the "Financing").
The Company has issued 17,309,971 units at a price of C$0.41 per unit for gross proceeds of C$7,097,088. A second tranche of 1,219,513 units is expected to close on or around January 16, 2017.
Each unit (a "Unit") consists of one common share of the Company and one-half of one transferable common share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder to acquire one additional common share of the Company (a "Warrant Share") at a price of C$0.65 per share for a period of 5 years. No commissions or finders' fees are payable in connection with the Financing. The securities issued in connection with the Financing are subject to a hold period expiring May 12, 2017.
Net proceeds from the Financing are expected to be used to support the restructuring of Entrée's business into two well-funded, separate publicly traded companies as announced on October 3, 2016, for the advancement of the Company's flagship assets in Mongolia and Nevada, and for general corporate purposes.
Stephen Scott, President and CEO commented, "We are very pleased with the success of the Financing and the strong support from both existing and new shareholders. We also look forward to providing ongoing updates as we implement Entrée's refreshed corporate strategy."
Director and officers of the Company and their associates acquired an aggregate 1,144,902 Units on the same terms and conditions as other subscribers. Other insiders of the Company and their associates acquired an aggregate 5.5 million Units, including 914,634 Units acquired by Sandstorm Gold Ltd. Following closing of the first tranche, Sandstorm holds 23,900,380 common shares of the Company, or 14.03% of the Company's issued and outstanding shares. The insiders' participation is exempt from the formal valuation and shareholder approval requirements provided under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Holders in Special Transactions. The exemption is based on the fact that the market value of the insiders' participation or the consideration paid by such insiders does not exceed 25% of the market value of the Company.
The Company will be filing a material change report in connection with the transaction less than 21 days before the expected date of the closing of the transaction, and considers the shorter period to be reasonable given the nature of the transaction and the fact that all necessary approvals have been obtained.
The Units and Warrant Shares have not been, and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons absent U.S. federal and state registration or an applicable exemption from the U.S. registration requirements. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States.
About Entrée Gold Inc.
Entrée Gold Inc. is a Canadian mineral exploration company balancing opportunity and risk with key assets in Mongolia and Nevada. As a joint venture partner with a carried interest on a portion of the Oyu Tolgoi mining project in Mongolia, Entrée has a unique opportunity to participate in one of the world's largest copper-gold projects managed by one of the premier mining companies - Rio Tinto. Oyu Tolgoi, with its series of deposits containing copper, gold and molybdenum, has been under exploration and development since the late 1990s. Additionally, Entrée has also been advancing its Ann Mason project in one of the world's most favourable mining jurisdictions, Nevada. The Ann Mason project hosts the Ann Mason copper-molybdenum deposit as well as the Blue Hill copper deposit within the rejuvenated Yerington copper camp.
Sandstorm Gold, Rio Tinto and Turquoise Hill Resources are major shareholders of Entrée, holding approximately 14%, 10% and 8% of issued and outstanding shares, respectively.
