Monitise seals £100m placing but at discount
MONITISE, the mobile payments firm part owned by Visa, yesterday completed a share offering that will raise £100m for the fast-growing company.
In a move revealed by City A.M. columnist Mark Kleinman last Thursday, Monitise yesterday said it had found investors for the placing. However, shares fell by almost eight per cent due to the discount offered on the new shares.
The 333.3m shares were sold at 30p – 10 per cent less than Monday’s closing price. This moved Monitise stock down to 30.45p yesterday.
The first wave of shares will hit the market on 10 December, while the second tranche will be available on 27 December, pending investor approval.
Monitise has been on the up in recent months, owing to the rise in people paying and banking via smartphones. Visa, which heavily promoted mobile payments over this summer’s Olympic Games, uses the Aim-listed company’s technology. It now handles $25bn (£15.5bn) worth of payments annually, compared to just $1bn last year.
Chief executive Alastair Lukies said: “We are obviously delighted with the strong interest from the investment community and invigorated by their support. We believe we have the platform, the team and the necessary momentum to create a globally-leading business in a hugely exciting marketplace.”