The joint owners of Falconbridge, Noranda (TSE) and Swedish-based Trelleborg are investigating the possibility of a treasury issue of common shares of Falconbridge.
Proceeds would be used to reduce debt and explore and develop new projects. If the companies agree to issue the shares, Noranda says it will subscribe for 45-50% of the issue, funding for which will come from existing funds and credit facilities.
Poor metal prices have taken their toll on both Noranda and Trelleborg. In 1993, Trelleborg suffered a pretax loss of $258 million while, for the first nine months of its fiscal year, Noranda lost $38 million.
For its part, Falconbridge has $1.8 billion in debt.
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