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- Aerial imaging company Nearmap (NEA) has frozen its shares ahead of a $90 million capital raise
- Under the offer, Nearmap will conduct a $70 million institutional placement and a non-underwritten share purchase plan (SPP) in a bid to raise an extra $20 million
- Nearmap says the decision to tap investors for capital came off the back of its strong FY20 results
- Funds raised under the offer will be used to accelerate the company’s HyperCamera3 systems and support its growth across roofing, insurance and government work
- At the same time as the placement, Nearmap Non-Executive Director Ross Norgard has announced he’ll part with roughly 15 per cent of his holding
- Nearmap shares last traded for $2.89 on Wednesday, September 9
Aerial imaging company Nearmap (NEA) has frozen its shares ahead of a $90 million capital raise.
Under the offer, Nearmap will conduct a $70 million institutional placement and a non-underwritten share purchase plan (SPP) in a bid to raise an extra $20 million.
Nearmap says the decision to tap investors for capital came off the back of its strong FY20 results. Over the period, NEA tabled $96.7 million in statutory revenue — a 25 per cent spike compared to FY19.
Funds raised under the offer will be used to accelerate the development of the company’s HyperCamera3, an ultra-high altitude, enhanced fidelity capturing system. The capital will also support Nearmap’s work within “strategic growth industry verticals,” such as roofing, insurance and government work.
Institutional placement
Nearmap’s institutional placement, underwritten by Citigroup Global Markets, will see around 26 million shares issued — roughly 5.7 per cent of NEA’s total shares prior to the capital raise.
The price of those new shares will be determined by an institutional bookbuild, but they have an underwritten floor price of $2.69 a pop — a 6.9 per cent markdown compared to the $2.89 closing price of NEA shares yesterday.
The bookbuild’s cap price has been set at $2.77, meaning Nearmap can raise up to $72.1 million under the placement component of the raise.
Positively, shareholders should only have to wait until tomorrow, September 11, to discover the outcome of the funding foray’s placement component.
Director sell-down
At the same time as the placement, Nearmap Non-Executive Director Ross Norgard will part with a portion of his holding.
Ross is expected to sell just over 15 per cent of his stake, equal to around 4.2 million shares. The sell-down, like the placement, is fully underwritten.
Despite the selldown, the director is expected to remain one of the company’s biggest shareholders, still with around 23.6 million shares to his name.
Share purchase plan
After the placement, eligible shareholders can subscribe for up to $30,000 in shares during Nearmap’s share purchase plan.
However, this SPP won’t be underwritten, meaning the amount Nearmap raises could fall short of the $20 million it’s aiming for.
SPP shares will be priced the cheaper of two ways: either at the same price investors paid during the placement or at a 2.5 per cent discount to the five-day volume-weighted average price (VWAP) of Nearmap shares up to the SPP’s closing date, currently set for October 5.
Nearmap shares last traded for $2.89 on Wednesday, September 9.
