APN News & Media Ltd has completed an equity raising of $99 million that strangely left $32 million on the table.
The company, which is still controlled by the deeply troubled Independent News & Media, yesterday revealed details of the raising that was announced last month.
The one-for-five entitlement offer was announced on May 19.
The institutional section of the offer raised $83 million and the retail offer raised $16 million.
But the retail offer was scaled back after APN received applications worth $48.2 million worth.
"This included applications for Entitlements of A$8.8 million and applications for Additional New Shares of A$39.4 million," the company told the ASX yesterday.
"The number of Additional New Shares to be issued to each Eligible Retail Shareholder who applied under the Retail Entitlement Offer will be capped at the number of APN shares held by an individual Eligible Retail Shareholder on the Record Date (7.00pm AEST 22 May 2009).
"Where an Eligible Retail Shareholder has applied for a number of Additional New Shares less than this cap, the number of Additional New Shares applied for will be allotted in full.
"By adopting this approach, 89% of Eligible Retail Shareholders who applied for New Shares will receive the full amount for which they applied.
"Following this scale back process, the total amount raised under the Retail Entitlement Offer will be approximately A$16 million and approximately 16 million New Shares will be issued."
The funds raised will be used to reduce APN’s debt and strengthen its balance sheet.
"We are very pleased with the result of the entitlement Offer and the strong support from both APN’s existing retail and institutional shareholders," chief executive Brenda Hopkins said in yesterday’s statement
APN shares eased 4 cents to $1.43.
The news for APN is better than that for its stricken parent, INM.
London media reports say INM is thinking of launching an emergency rights issue this week as part of a last minute plan to raise enough funds to restructure a 200 million euro bond issue that fell due almost six weeks ago.
A time extension for repayment of the bonds is up this Friday and the reports say the company is thinking of raising 50-100 million euros, and would be at a steep discount to the Dublin-based company’s of 32 pence last Friday.
The move follows an offer from bond holders to underwrite a rights issue that could have seen them end up with 80%-90% of INM if existing shareholders don’t support.
Crucial to the success or failure of the offer will be whether former executive chairman and major shareholder, Tony O’Reilly and a Dublin businessman, Denis O’Brien, the second biggest holder, deliver on a previous offer to contribute 30 million euros to any fund raising.
INM is trying to raise an extra 150 million euros from selling its German price comparison website, a UK-based gaming software company, and INM Outdoor, its South African outdoor advertising business, by the end of September.
INM is also in danger of breaching covenants on a further 653 million in debt which is held by a syndicate of eight banks and secured on the company’s assets in the UK and Ireland.
Its struggles to remain alive resemble those of Canwest of Canada which is still talking to its banks.
