Sunda Energy plc has raised £5.03 million via an oversubscribed two-tranche placing of 335,126,320 new ordinary shares of 0.1 pence each, to complete payment of its oil and gas acquisition in New Zealand.
Net proceeds from the fundraise with existing shareholders and new institutional and private investors, at a 45.5% discounted price of 1.5p per ordinary share, will also go towards the company’s offshore Timor-Leste and the Philippines projects.
Members of Sunda’s senior management team and certain other investors additionally agreed to subscribe for 14,873,680 new ordinary shares at the issue price to raise approximately £220,000.
A separate conditional retail offer of up to 35m new ordinary shares is expected to raise up to £525,000.
The company said that the placing shares would represent approximately 39.82% of its enlarged share capital.
Since the fourth quarter of 2025, the Sunda board has collectively invested a total of £2.23m in securities in the company, comprising equity and debt, which includes £2.04m from chief executive officer Dr Andy Butler. The majority of the investment has funded the New Zealand asset.
The fundraise also allows the company to complete the purchase, subject to ministerial approval, without drawing additional convertible loan notes which it intends to cancel.
Sunda is also in advanced discussions with a specialist lender for a revolving credit facility of up to US$5.0 million to manage the three-monthly oil lifting schedule at its New Zealand asset.
The acquisition consists of five petroleum mining permits located within the onshore area of the Taranaki Basin, on the west coast of New Zealand’s North Island.
Offshore Timor-Leste, Sunda had been preparing to drill a gas appraisal well by 18 June 2026 in the Chuditch production sharing contract where it holds a 60% interest.
In June 2026, the company received a notice to terminate the PSC because Sunda had breached the terms by failing to complete the required minimum exploration work.
Sunda said it was in talks with its Government-owned partner and authorities over funding and operational plans, but added that there was no guarantee of a successful outcome.
In the Philippines, the company owns a 37.5% interest in service contracts 80 and 81 in the Sulu Sea, operated by Tetragon Energy, and containing the Dabakan-1 and Palendag-1 gas discoveries and a portfolio of undrilled prospects and leads.
The partners intend to start a farm-out process in 2027 for a third party to undertake high impact exploration drilling. The project’s largest prospect, Halcon, has a Tetragon-estimated mid case (2U) prospective resources of 8 trillion cubic feet, of which 3tcf is net to Sunda’s working interest.