Raising cash: Australia-owned Weebit Nano and Securities Matters raise capital
Chip company Weebit Nano has announced the raising of up to A $ 15 million at a discount of about 25% on the share price ● Technology company Security receives investment from Psagot
Shiri Haviv-Waldhorn 25/11/20
The Israeli technology company Weebit Nano is taking advantage of the positive momentum in the stock, and is raising additional capital. A few months after raising about 9 million Australian dollars at 28 cents a share, it announces today a raising of up to 15 million Australian dollars, at a much higher price, of 1.7 Australian dollars per share.
The issue price reflects a discount of about 25% on the share price before the listing, and of about 20% on the average price in the last ten trading days, and in response, the share fell today (Wednesday) in trading in Australia by about 6%. The IPO was led by Canaccord Investment Bank and saw significant demand.
Weebit Nano is a company from the semiconductor industry, which produces technology of non-volatile memories for integration in various electronic devices. The company's value on the Australian Stock Exchange stands at 225 million Australian dollars (about 550 million shekels) after a jump of over 420% in the share price in the past year, after the company updated in recent months on progress in development and approaching the commercialization phase; At present, Weebit Nano does not yet record revenue from its operations. The company's CEO is Kobi Hanoch, and the chairman is Dedi Perlmutter, a former Intel executive.
Expanding collaboration with a French research institute
The company states today that the cash fund will amount to approximately $ 16 million (US) after the raising, and in addition, the exercise of tradable warrants is expected in the coming year for an expected consideration of approximately $ 13 million. The funds raised will be used by the company to accelerate the development and transfer of its technology to manufacturing plants, in preparation for the first commercial agreement.
At the same time, Weebit Nano reported expanding its partnership with the French research institute Leti, which will allow it to advance in two product lines: the first is systems embedded in an intellectual property model, i.e. selling licenses to assimilate the technology in a variety of chips, and the second is dedicated non-volatile memory chips.
About a month ago, Weebit Nano CEO Kobi Hanoch was interviewed by Globes, saying that the non-volatile memory market is about $ 60 billion, and is expected to reach $ 100 billion by 2025. "We are addressing this entire market. It splits into two sub-markets, we start with the areas of computer-embedded systems - memories that go into System on a Chip, but we will also expand to chips that are all memories, "said Hanoch." Every electronic component contains memory: telephones, washing machines, autonomous vehicles , Security Cameras. Everyone needs non-volatile memories. Demand is growing exponentially. "
Psagot makes a "responsible" investment
Another Israeli technology company traded in Australia today announced a capital raising. The company is Security Matters, which has developed technology that "marks" various products - whether solids, liquids or gas - in order to track them in the supply chain and ensure their originality. In the case of Security Matters, the amount raised is not high - about 760,000 Australian Dollars, which is close to ILS 1.9 million - but the symbolism is in the investor body: the investment house Psagot. In most cases, Israeli institutional investors are less likely to invest in Israeli companies traded in Australia.
Psagot is being invested in a private placement at 38 Australian cents a share, which is similar to the share price in Australia. In addition, Psagot receives an option to purchase an additional share for every two shares it acquires, with the exercise price set at 60 Australian cents. In recent months, the company has raised about AUD 8.5 million in previous rounds of funding, and it is currently traded at about 51 million Australian dollars (about ILS 125 million ).
The company states that this is the first significant institutional investment in it within the framework of the investment strategy that adheres to the ESG - environmental, corporate and corporate governance issues. According to a statement from Security Matters, those who adopt the company's technology understand that the basic challenge of climate change and environmental protection is the ability to reuse raw materials incorporated into their products upon termination of use of these products. "It is neither economical nor efficient to reuse 100% raw materials in any new product manufactured," the company said in a statement, while using its technology, customers can sort and reuse the raw material.
The company's chairman, Ed Hopland, said: “Psagot's investment represents a recognition of the company's commercial potential as a disruptive technology for companies and industries in a sustainable economy. Security Matters is an attractive investment that will be seriously considered by ESG funds because it addresses a significant issue, and helps create value over time. We believe this is just the first major investment in ESG's investments. "