Wiluna Mining’s kingmakers pick FTI Consulting’s re-listing plan over Mark Creasy’s share buyout campaign

The key backers of Wiluna Mining have rejected Mark Creasy’s bid to snap up the collapsed gold producer in favour of a stock exchange rebirth.

Administrators from FTI Consulting said they have received formal letters of support from Wiluna’s three major shareholders and debt funders to proceed with a capital raising to re-list the company on the Australian Securities Exchange.

The exact details of the raising are yet to be disclosed, but it is likely more than $100 million would be required.

Mining services contractor Byrnecut, German financier Delphi Group and Canadian gold royalty business Franco-Nevada have a combined 38.4 per cent equity stake, $59m of convertible notes and $47m of secured debt.

The trio’s support for FTI’s plan represents a huge blow for Mr Creasy’s campaign to hoover up Wiluna’s shares for 50¢ each — an 138 per cent increase from when the company last traded on the bourse in July 2022.

But since then, the gold price has surged 140 per cent in US dollar terms and Wiluna’s namesake mine has been upgraded, giving the company’s battered backers renewed hope the Murchison region operation will finally come good. The Wiluna mine burnt through more than $800m and sent two operators bust in just over a decade.

Administrators launched a $37.2m convertible notes issue last month to add funds to the creditor’s trust following legal pressure by former Wiluna chair Milan Jerkovic.

Mr Jerkovic recently sold his shares to Mr Creasy for 50¢ each. The billionaire prospector is understood to currently have an equity stake in Wiluna of about 5 to 7 per cent.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission in April dragged Mr Jerkovic and former Wiluna chief commercial officer James Malone to the Federal Court over a capital raising inked just weeks before the company’s 2022 collapse.