LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Braidy Industries, the start-up company planning to build a $1.7 billion aluminum mill in northeast Kentucky, has extended the deadline for a stock offering in which the private company hopes to raise some $500 million from investors.
The stock sale, originally offered through Nov. 19, is now set to end Dec. 31, according to documents filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission on Friday.
Kentucky taxpayers are literally invested in Braidy’s success. In May 2017, Gov. Matt Bevin’s administration invested $15 million in public money in the company as part of an initial funding round in which Braidy Industries raised about $20 million in total.
But before it can start building the mill, the company needs to raise $400 million to $500 million in equity to finance construction debt, Braidy Industries said in documents filed in September.
A Braidy Industries vice president declined to comment when asked how much the company has raised so far in the stock sale and the reason for extending the deadline, referring a reporter to a statement on NetCapital, the online portal the company is using to sell shares to the public.
The statement doesn’t address those questions directly, but the company said it has received “indications of interest exceeding $1 billion” from “strategic and institutional investors.”
“Leading the rebuild of Appalachia with both advanced manufacturing technology and determination is an endeavor that resonates with the investment community,” Braidy Industries chief financial officer Julio Ramirez said in the statement.
NetCapital indicates it has received $11.9 million from potential Braidy Industries investors so far. But in the statement, Ramirez said investors have the option of buying shares directly from the company, “which amounts would not be reflected on the Netcapital offering page.”
In addition to extending the deadline to Dec. 31, Braidy Industries also raised the maximum it will accept through the NetCapital portal to $500 million, up from $400 million.
The company is targeting “sophisticated institutional investors” for the vast majority of the stock sale while also offering up to $1.07 million in new shares -- the maximum under federal law -- to everyday people who can buy as few as six shares, for $108, through NetCapital.
Braidy Industries is looking to become a public company listed on the NASDAQ in the first quarter of 2019, according to materials the company has shared on NetCapital.
The mill would not be complete until 2020 and would generate its first sales to automotive manufacturers and other customers in 2021, according to company projections.
Reach reporter Chris Otts at 502-585-0822, cotts@wdrb.com, on Twitter or on Facebook. Copyright 2018 WDRB News. All rights reserved.
