Seraphim Space (SSIT) is looking to raise ÂŁ350mn from both DIY and institutional investors by issuing new shares.
The trust has performed strongly and seen high demand from investors. Before the launch of the fundraising, it was trading on a premium to net asset value (NAV) of 56 per cent as at 24 April.
The new C shares will be sold at 100p per share and trade separately from ordinary shares, to protect existing shareholders from the inevitable cash drag as the new capital is deployed. The C shares will then be converted into ordinary shares within 18 months.
The fundraising is expected to incur costs of 2 per cent of the issue price, so the C shares’ opening NAV is expected to be 98p.
Seraphim said that key holdings in its portfolio “generated more than $100mn of follow-on investment opportunities over the last year” and that it is “confident in its ability to deploy the issue proceeds”. Panmure Liberum analysts said this was “the best way” for the trust to raise new capital while “preventing dilution for existing shareholders”.
DIY investors can access the fundraising via the trust’s partner brokers, which include Hargreaves Lansdown, AJ Bell and Interactive Investor. The deadline for the offer is 12pm on 6 May, but the trust said individual investment platforms may have earlier deadlines.
The trust’s shareholders will then need to approve the issue at the trust’s general meeting on 6 May. Its share price was down 16 per cent so far this morning, with the shares trading around 185p at the time of writing.
