Bowen Coking Coal is set to launch a $50 million equity raise on Thursday morning with backing from coal billionaire Hans Mende, Street Talk can reveal.

It is understood the company had its brokers, Petra Capital and Shaw and Partners, crossing investors on Tuesday. The pricing had settled at 9¢ a share or an 18.2 per cent discount to the last close.

The deal is expected to be covered at launch by Bowen Coking Coal’s existing shareholders and mining specialists. It is backed by Crocodile Fund UK, Flannery family’s Illwella and Matt Latimore’s M Resources.

Of note, Mende would join the company’s register. Dubbed the “godfather of Australian coal”, the German-born billionaire has made several Australian bets in the past via his AMCI Group including Felix Resources, Whitehaven Coal, Gloucester Coal and Aquila Resources. He also had a stake in Australian Pacific Coal, where Matt Latimore’s M Resources and his backers succeeded in defeating rival bidder Nathan Tinkler last year.

The company has said it is pursuing liquidity options as it works through its Burton complex. And on Wednesday, it upgraded its coal reserve estimate for the Lenton coal deposit – part of the Burton complex – by 18 per cent for marketable coal.

The raise comes just five months after Bowen tapped equity capital markets for $50 million at 17¢ a share.