January 8 (SeeNews) - Romanian farming company Holde Agri Invest said on Wednesday it has raised 10 million lei ($2.34 million/2.09 million euro) from Bucharest Stock Exchange investors through a private placement offer of its shares.
The offer took place between December 16 and 23 last year, Holde Agri Invest said in a press release.
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During the offer period, the company has placed 8,984,267 new ordinary shares, which were sold at 1.1135 lei apiece. The average subscription was approximately 370,000 lei, as 27 investors participated in the offering.
Following the private placement, the share capital of Holde Agri Invest will increase up to 32.3 million lei.
The company’s shares will float on the AeRO market of the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) by the end of June 2020. Once floated on the AeRO, Holde will be the first agricultural company to be listed on the BVB. The shares will be available for trading under the HAI symbol.
"The capital raised from BVB investors will fuel expansion of the operated farmland, thus helping us become a significant player in the local agricultural market," Holde Agri Invest CEO Liviu Zagan said.
The fresh capital will be used to expand the arable area through the acquisition of a new farm. Once the investment is closed, Holde Agri Invest will have at least 7,000 hectares of arable land. Holde’s goal is to become one of the largest Romanian players on the country's agricultural market, reaching a minimum of 20,000 hectares of cultivated land within the next 10 years, the company said.
To reach this objective, Holde aims to invest over 50 million euro ($55.8 milliom) and to promote and develop a modern agricultural business where efficiency and operational excellence are the main driver of the results.
Vertical Seven Group remains the biggest shareholder of Holde with a stake of 19.6%. The remainder is owned by investors holding between 9% and 0.1% in the business. The business model of Holde Agri Invest envisages that no single shareholder holds a majority stake.
(1 euro = 4.7750 lei)