Andean Precious Metals: Advised on a $40 million capital raise with a three-month execution timeline

Louis Garoz-Ferguson: JC.

Juan Carlos Sandoval: Hi.

Louis Garoz-Ferguson: How are you, sir?

Juan Carlos Sandoval: Hi. Good, how are you?

Louis Garoz-Ferguson: Good.

Ruben Schwagermann: Hey, JC.

Juan Carlos Sandoval: Hi, Ruben.

Louis Garoz-Ferguson: How was the conference circuit? You settled back in now?

Juan Carlos Sandoval: I still have a few hundred emails to go through.

Louis Garoz-Ferguson: Oh, okay.

Juan Carlos Sandoval: But yeah, catching up on things, so yeah, much better.

Louis Garoz-Ferguson: Good.

Juan Carlos Sandoval: Thanks for asking.

Louis Garoz-Ferguson: We won't take up too much of your time, and we appreciate you doing this.

Juan Carlos Sandoval: Sure.

Louis Garoz-Ferguson: So for context, those of you watching, JC is the CFO at Andean Precious Metals, which is a publicly listed company. We were very fortunate to work with the company last year on a successful transaction, and I know that you expressed openness to talking about your experience working with us. And over and above that, we're joined by Ruben Schwagermann, who's MD here, and he was lead on the transaction, and I believe he's got some things prepared here, so I think I'll let him take it away.

Juan Carlos Sandoval: Sure.

Louis Garoz-Ferguson: Again, thank you very much for doing this.

Juan Carlos Sandoval: No problem.

Ruben Schwagermann: Yeah, absolutely. Thank you, JC. I think getting a little bit of background on the company and a general overview of Andean Precious Metals will be a helpful way to start.

Juan Carlos Sandoval: Sure. We're a Canadian-listed company. We have two producing assets: one in California, where we produce around 40,000 ounces of gold, and we have assets in Bolivia, where we produce around five million ounces of silver. And that's what we have.

Ruben Schwagermann: Thank you. Now, on the transaction, a $40 million refinancing. We were engaged to help you get that done. Is there anything in particular that stood out about our process and approach while working on this transaction?

Juan Carlos Sandoval: Yeah, thank you. It's always two things when you work with an investment bank, a consultant, however you want to call it. The most important one is understanding what the client needs, right? And Ruben, you and I spoke at length about what the real need was, right? And the need for the purpose of the capital raise, paying particular attention to, for example, the cost of funding, which was essential for us because of the strength of our balance sheet. I think more than the amount, or the restrictions, governance and so on, terms, it was the cost of funding. And it's one of those things that I realized, day one, that you understood. First of all, you listen, and then you apply that, right? And it happened a lot that people would come with... You can come with certain ideas, and you give feedback. You would expect that feedback's taken, and whatever's next, they apply those things, right? In your case, it made the process easier, because you understood what I was looking for. I think that's critical, because it saves time, right?

Juan Carlos Sandoval: And then the other one is the reach, right? This one was to raise capital for some, or equity, debt, for some debt repayments that I had. And it's not like you brought one option. One thing that I really liked about you guys: you brought various options, and not just always the same things, like talking to banks, funds, different instruments like repayment facilities, and so on, right? So giving me options, and that reach that you have, was pretty impressive.

Ruben Schwagermann: Do you recall roughly how many offers we were able to bring to the table?

Juan Carlos Sandoval: I don't know, but from you guys, I did get several options. And it's good, because at the end, what I always wanted was to at least have two options. At least two options to be able to compare, right? And be able to decide, and not only one and, well, it's the only one you have. How do you compare that against, right? And I believe we had even more than two, which was very good. It helped me a lot to be able... It helped me make the decision process easier, right?

Ruben Schwagermann: Absolutely. Now, circling back to what you mentioned, the cost of funding, I recall, as well, was very important to you. How did you experience our help in creating a competitive process, and negotiations of different term sheets against each other when they were on the table?

Juan Carlos Sandoval: Well, again, being able to have options helped a lot, because it allows me not only options, but different types of options, right? Not just like typical bank financing, where it's a bank financing and you go for the best terms with the best rate, right? No, we had different instruments for the debt refinancing, and that allowed me, again, to be able to compare and take the right decision.

Ruben Schwagermann: Wonderful. Okay. And for anyone that might be watching right now, what would your response be if another executive or principal was looking to engage us and would ask you for your advice?

Juan Carlos Sandoval: Well, I think you guys... And I've said this, and I have no problem in saying it: it's always the professionalism that I noticed every single day, right? It gives that level of comfort that what you guys are working, what you guys are presenting, is right, is a tangible, good option. I think it comes down to your professionalism, and I have no problem in saying it.

Louis Garoz-Ferguson: Appreciate you saying that, sir. It was a very exciting transaction. There's a lot of moving parts, and we are very much so excited and looking forward to hopefully continuing our relationship and working on future transactions, future endeavors, and provide value in any way that we can.

Juan Carlos Sandoval: Absolutely. Thank you, Louis. And as I said, we like to work with whoever wants to work with us. As a fast-growing company, there'll be more opportunities, and rest assured, based on what I've seen and my experience working with you, you will definitely be part of what's next. You'll get invited, right? Who knows what ultimately happens, right?

Louis Garoz-Ferguson: Of course.

Juan Carlos Sandoval: But I'll certainly keep you in mind.

Louis Garoz-Ferguson: Of course. 100%. Okay, well, we appreciate you doing this, sir. Looking forward to staying in touch, and good luck with the catch-up of the emails, and I hope you have a good rest of your year, and looking forward to speaking at some point to see what the new year holds.

Juan Carlos Sandoval: Thank you, Louis.

Louis Garoz-Ferguson: Thank you.

Juan Carlos Sandoval: Appreciate it. Thank you. We'll be in touch.

Louis Garoz-Ferguson: Thank you.

Ruben Schwagermann: Absolutely.

Juan Carlos Sandoval: All right. Thanks.

Louis Garoz-Ferguson: Bye-bye.