Transforming paper into gold.

Eric Sprott To Buy $235 Million In Gold, Or Over 6 Metric Tonnes, As Part Of PHYS Follow-On Offering

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/25/2010 16:49 -0500

• Capital Markets
• Eric Sprott
• Morgan Stanley
• New York Stock Exchange
• RBC Capital Markets
• Sprott Asset Management

Eric Sprott's Physical Gold Trust (PHYS) has just announced it is issuing a follow-on offering of 18 million trust units, with an overallottment option of another 2.7 million, for a total, including the greenshoe, of 20.7 million new units. The proceeds, as expected, will be used to purchase physical gold bullion to satisfy unprecedented investor demand for a safe haven away from the central bank printing press madness. At a post-announcement per unit price of $11.40, this means Sprott will buy $235 million worth of gold in the open market. At today's gold price of $1,200 this translates into 195,833 troy ounces of gold to be acquired, or roughly 6 metric tonnes. Somehow, we don't think the LBMA will be too thrilled with this extraction of physical gold out of the controlled synthetic precious metal ponzi system.

Full press release:

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - May 25, 2010) - Sprott Physical Gold Trust (the "Trust") (TSX:PHY.U)(NYSE:PHYS), a trust created to invest and hold substantially all of its assets in physical gold bullion and managed by Sprott Asset Management LP, announced today that it plans a follow-on offering to the public (the "Offering") of 18,000,000 transferable, redeemable units of the Trust ("Units"). As part of the Offering, the Trust expects to grant the underwriters an over-allotment option to purchase up to 2,700,000 additional Units.

The Trust intends to use the net proceeds of this Offering to acquire physical gold bullion in accordance with the Trust's objective and subject to the Trust's investment and operating restrictions described in the prospectus related to this Offering. Under the trust agreement governing the Trust, the net proceeds of the Offering per unit must be not less than 100% of the most recently calculated net asset value per Unit of the Trust prior to, or upon determination of, pricing of the offering.