A shareholder of amphibious boat maker Sealegs Corporation has offered to buy 31 million new shares in the company, at a cost of $6.2 million.Private equity investment company Avenport Investment Corporation, which lists an address in Mauritius, owns near
A shareholder of amphibious boat maker Sealegs Corporation has offered to buy 31 million new shares in the company, at a cost of $6.2 million.
Private equity investment company Avenport Investment Corporation, which lists an address in Mauritius, owns nearly 20% of Sealegs already.
That stake came thillionrough an issue of 14 million shares at 20c each in May and the purchase of 4.5 m shares for $630,000 from Furzefield Pty of Australia earlier this month.
Today Sealegs said the Avenport offer would be put to shareholders for approval at Sealegs' annual meeting on July 30.
The board decided to put the offer to the meeting because the strategic expansion of Sealegs would need significant working capital and because Avenport shared the same vision for Sealegs as its management did.
Sealegs chief executive David McKee Wright said the company had proven it had a product that worked in more than 25 countries, and that the amphibious boat market was significant.
"Avenport would bring an international focus to the company and the capital from the placement would fund marketing, sales initiatives and the development of new models," he said.
An independent appraisers report would be prepared on the offer.
In the year to the end of March Sealegs made a $642,000 operating profit on sales of $11.4 million. Its shares were unchanged on 23c around mid-afternoon.
