Successful completion of A$150m underwritten placement

• Significantly oversubscribed Underwritten Institutional Placement has closed raising A$150 million to support the accelerated development of the Clean TeQ Sunrise Project
• Placement was strongly supported by existing shareholders and new investors including leading international and Australian institutions
• CLQ will recommence trading on the ASX on 9 March 2018

NOTTING HILL, Victoria, March 08, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

NOT FOR RELEASE OR DISTRIBUTION IN THE UNITED STATES

Mr Robert Friedland and Mr Jiang Zhaobai, Co-Chairmen of Clean TeQ Holdings Ltd. (Clean TeQ or Company) (CLQ:ASX) (CLQ;TSX) (CTEQF:OTCQX), and Mr Sam Riggall, Chief Executive Officer, are pleased to announce that the Company has completed the underwritten institutional placement (Placement) announced on 8 March 2018, following strong demand from existing shareholders and new institutional investors.

The Placement closed heavily oversubscribed with demand significantly exceeding the $150 million underwritten amount.

As noted in the market announcement dated 8 March 2018, proceeds raised via the Placement will be used to fund early works and long lead items to accelerate the development of the Company’s 100% owned Clean TeQ Sunrise Nickel/Cobalt/Scandium Project (Sunrise or the Project), located 350km west of Sydney.

The expedited development timetable will provide Clean TeQ with the opportunity to commence production of high purity cobalt and nickel sulphate approximately 12 months earlier than previously contemplated, allowing the Company to take advantage of rapidly growing markets for these critical inputs into the lithium ion battery industry.

The Placement was conducted at a fixed price of A$1.15 per new share (Offer Price), representing a 6.1% discount to the closing price of A$1.225 per share as at 7 March 2018.

The Placement will be completed in two tranches:

1. An unconditional tranche of approximately 87 million ordinary shares, issued pursuant to ASX Listing Rule 7.1 (Tranche 1); and,
2. A conditional tranche of approximately 44 million ordinary shares (Tranche 2) which remain subject to a shareholder approval at a vote to be held at a general meeting of shareholders to be held on or around 18 April 2018.

Settlement of Tranche 1 of the Placement is scheduled to occur on or around 14 March 2018. Tranche 2 of the Placement, subject to shareholder approval, is scheduled to settle on or around 20 April 2018. New ordinary shares issued under the Placement will rank equally with existing Clean TeQ ordinary shares.

Share Purchase Plan (SPP)

As previously announced, eligible retail shareholders with addresses in Australia and New Zealand will be invited to participate in the SPP up to a maximum of A$15,000 per shareholder. Participation in the SPP will be open to all eligible holders of Clean TeQ ordinary shares as at the record date of 7 March 2018. The SPP will open on 16 March 2018 and close at 5:00pm (Melbourne time) on 18 April 2018. The SPP is not underwritten.

The issue price under the SPP will be equal to the Offer Price. Ordinary shares issued under the SPP will rank equally with the Company’s existing ordinary shares on issue. No brokerage or transaction costs will be payable by subscribing shareholders under the SPP. Further details on the SPP will be released on the ASX and distributed to eligible Clean TeQ shareholders in Australia and New Zealand in due course.

The theoretical maximum number of shares that can be issued under the SPP is 78 million, based on all eligible shareholders (being shareholders with a registered address in Australia or New Zealand) subscribing for their full entitlement under the SPP. Clean TeQ reserves the right to cap the SPP below the theoretical maximum number of ordinary shares at its absolute discretion

Additional Information

Nothing contained in this announcement constitutes investment, legal, tax or other advice. You should seek appropriate professional advice before making any investment decision.

Macquarie Capital (Australia) Limited and BMO Capital Markets are acting as Joint Lead Managers, Underwriters and Bookrunners for the Placement. Baker McKenzie is acting as legal adviser to Clean TeQ in relation to the Placement.

For more information about Clean TeQ contact:

About Clean TeQ Holdings Limited (ASX:CLQ) – Based in Melbourne, Australia, Clean TeQ is a global leader in metals recovery and industrial water treatment through the application of its proprietary Clean-iX® continuous ion exchange technology.

For more information about Clean TeQ please visit the Company’s website www.cleanteq.com.

About the Clean TeQ Sunrise Project – Clean TeQ is the 100% owner of the Clean TeQ Sunrise Project, located in New South Wales. Clean TeQ Sunrise is one of the largest cobalt deposits outside of Africa, and one of the largest and highest-grade accumulations of scandium ever discovered.

About Clean TeQ Water – Through its wholly owned subsidiary Clean TeQ Water, Clean TeQ is also providing innovative wastewater treatment solutions for removing hardness, desalination, nutrient removal, zero liquid discharge. The sectors of focus include municipal wastewater, surface water, industrial waste water and mining waste water.

For more information about Clean TeQ Water please visit www.cleanteqwater.com

This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities in the United States or in any other jurisdiction in which such offer would be illegal. The ordinary shares to be issued under the Placement and the SPP have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933 (the US Securities Act) or under the securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States. Accordingly, such shares may not be offered or sold to persons in the United States except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the US Securities Act and applicable state securities laws.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements in this news release constitute “forward-looking statements” or “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements of the Company, the Clean TeQ Sunrise Project, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. Such statements can be identified by the use of words such as “may”, “would”, “could”, “will”, “intend”, “expect”, “believe”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “estimate”, “scheduled”, “forecast”, “predict” and other similar terminology, or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken, occur or be achieved. These statements reflect the Company’s current expectations regarding future events, performance and results, and speak only as of the date of this new release.

Statements in this news release that constitute forward-looking statements or information include, but are not limited to: statements regarding the completion of the Placement and SPP; statements regarding the use of proceeds of the Placement and SPP; and the development and construction timetable of the Project and the anticipated early delivery of certain long lead-time items contributing to additional de-risking of the Project’s delivery schedule. Readers are cautioned that actual results may vary from those presented. All such forward-looking information and statements are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by Clean TeQ’s management in light of their experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors management believe are appropriate in the circumstances. These statements, however, are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information or statements including, but not limited to, unexpected changes in laws, rules or regulations, or their enforcement by applicable authorities; changes in investor demand; the results of negotiations with project financiers; the failure of parties to contracts to perform as agreed; changes in commodity prices; unexpected failure or inadequacy of infrastructure, or delays in the development of infrastructure, and the failure of exploration programs or other studies to deliver anticipated results or results that would justify and support continued studies, development or operations. Other important factors that could cause actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements also include those described under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's most recently filed Annual Information Form available under its profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information or statements.

Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes are reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Subject to applicable securities laws, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this news release.