Webjet boosts equity raising

Webjet has upsized its equity raising to $346m from up to $332m earlier on the back of demand for the stock from investors.

It comes as private equity firm and potential suitor Bain Capital takes up shares in the company as part of its institutional offer and partially sub underwrites the retail component.

On Wednesday, Webjet launched a book build for an equity raising on Wednesday at $1.70 per share.

In a book message sent to investors, it said that the Webjet institutional component of the offer was covered with demand from both existing Webjet shareholders and new investors.

“In response to this demand, the institutional placement will be upsized from $101m to $115m with total proceeds raised being $346m,” investors were told.

The term sheet said that the retail entitlement offer had been fully sub-underwritten, including in part by Bain Capital, which was also allocated stock in the institutional component of the institutional offer.

The online travel agency has been eager to secure funds after the government suspended travel to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Fund managers were told that the company had launched an institutional placement and a partially underwritten one for one entitlement offer to secure at least $275m.

The entitlement offer was to secure between $174m and $231m.

The fully underwritten placement would raise $101m by selling down 21.9 per cent of the company.

Working on the trade is Goldman Sachs, Ord Minnett and Credit Suisse.

The price that shares are being sold at is a 53.7 per cent discount to the last traded share price of $3.67.

It follows earlier efforts a week ago to raise $250m-$300m at about $2 per share.

It is understood that of the $250m that Webjet was trying to raise last week, $150m was for working capital to pay back clients and $150m was to keep the company operational in a difficult environment.