VANCOUVER
,
Jan. 6
/CNW/ - Rockwell Diamonds Inc. ("Rockwell" or the "Company") (TSX: RDI; JSE: RDI; OTCBB: RDIAF) announces that it has now completed approximately
$7.4 million
of the planned
$12.5 million
of financings announced
December 2, 2009
. The shares issued under this financing will be subject to four month resale restricted periods from their issuance dates in
December 2009
and
January 2010
. The Company also intends to increase the originally planned
$12.5 million
of financings by approximately
$2.2 million
, and it has received
Toronto
Stock Exchange approval for such increase. The Company expects to complete the remaining financings in
January 2010
.
The remaining portion of the Company's recapitalization will be sought through a rights offering planned for
January 2010
. Completion of at least
$3.1 million
of this rights offering is guaranteed by another new principal investor, Daboll Consultants who are associated with the Steinmetz Diamond Group.
Appointment of New Director
Together with completion of the initial part of the financing, Rockwell has appointed Mr
Yong Guo
as a director of the Company. Mr Guo is the managing partner of Godia Capital Partners ("Godia"), one of the first Chinese private equity funds created to focus on investment opportunities in resource projects in
Africa
. Mr Guo and his investment partners also have a sound knowledge of the emerging Chinese diamond manufacturing sector and, over the past year, have done an extensive assessment of mining opportunities in southern
Africa
. Mr Guo has been involved in the successful launch and management of
Omaha
Capital
China
and CMT
China
Value Partners, two venture capital funds focussed on early growth investment opportunities in
China
. He is also the Vice President of Business Development for ChinaEDU,
Beijing
, a leading on-line education company in
China
, and iSoftStone Technology,
Beijing
, a successful IT outsourcing company in
China
. Mr Guo holds a Bachelor of Computer Sciences from Southeast University, Nanjing,
China
, and a Master of Computer Science from
Syracuse
University in the USA.
President and CEO
John Bristow
commented "We are pleased to have completed the majority of our planned financing. These funds provide the basis on which we can strengthen our balance sheet, modernize and re-commission the processing plant at Wouterspan - the Company's fourth operation which has been on care and maintenance since
January 2009
, take advantage of increasing diamond prices, and re-commence our growth plans. We welcome Mr
Yong Guo
to our board and look forward to his assistance in tapping into the Chinese investment markets and identifying opportunities in the rapidly expanding Chinese diamond manufacturing and retail sector."
John Bristow
President and CEO
No regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information
contained in this news release.
Forward Looking Statements
This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" (together, referred to as "forward-looking statements"). Other than statements of historical fact, all statements in this release that relate to the financing and rights offering are forward-looking statements. Although Rockwell believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guaranteed, and the terms and timing of the financing and rights offering may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include the actions and approvals of securities regulatory authorities, including the securities regulatory authorities in each province and territory of
Canada
, the
Toronto
Stock Exchange and the
Johannesburg
Stock Exchange, the availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees and the actual terms of the financing or rights offering may differ materially from those outlined in the forward-looking statements.
For further information: on Rockwell, please visit the Company's website at www.rockwelldiamonds.com or contact Investor Services at (604) 684-6365 or within North America at 1-800-667-2114
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