DroneShield shares drop after upsized $100m share sale
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The news: Defence technology company Droneshield has raised $100 million after expanding its initial share sale following strong demand from investors.
The numbers: Droneshield shares opened 19% lower at 91 cents each in early trading on the ASX.
Last week, Droneshield announced a $70 million fully-underwritten placement offer to institutional, professional and sophisticated investors but said on Monday this was increased to $100 million following strong demand.
Shares are being issued at 80 cents each — a 28% discount to its closing price before the share sale.
The company is raising a further $5 million from existing shareholders at the same price via a share purchase plan.
The context: The company has said the proceeds would be used to build up inventory, fulfil its order pipeline and accelerate the development of its in-house AI and machine learning capabilities. It announced last week that its partner had signed a NATO Framework Agreement that would result in significant sales over three years, and had also outlined a surge in first quarter revenue.
Ahead of the share sale, the company’s market value had nearly tripled over the last 12 months to nearly $700 million.
The source: ASX announcement
