AFR: Listed lab business Universal Biosensors raising $25m

Listed laboratory services provider Universal Biosensors was raising $25 million via an entitlement offer and a placement on Wednesday morning.

The stock’s been in trading halt since Tuesday but kicked off its raise on Wednesday.

The company split the cash call into a $5 million placement and a $20 million 1-for-6.85 non-renounceable entitlement offer.

Both were priced at 77¢ per CHESS depository interest (CDI), a tight 1.9 per cent discount to Universal Biosensors’ last close. (The company is based in Melbourne but domiciled in the USA, hence the CDIs).

Potential investors were told Viburnum Funds, an entity associated with Universal Biosensors’ chairman Craig Coleman would underwrite the raise.

The term sheet said Universal Biosensors had patented technology using finger prick blood samples via a portable handheld device, and ambition to build a multi-product stable of biosensors in large markets.

It said the company would use the funds raised to accelerate existing product development, sales, expansion of specialist laboratory services, scale-up manufacturing and for research and development of next products.

Placement bids were due 3pm Wednesday and the entitlement offer’s record date was April 26.

Petra Capital was the sole lead manager and book runner on the raise.

Universal Biosensors had $140 million market cap before the raise, $13 million cash (of which $2.2 million was restricted) and no debt.

Source: The Australian Financial Review