Rent.com.au to list via reverse takeover

Perth-based residential rentals-dedicated website rent.com.au is going public, unveiling a $10 million-plus plan to list on the Australian Securities Exchange via a backdoor listing through Select Exploration.

The transaction will involve Select buying all of rent.com.au’s shares by issuing more than 1.7 billion of its own shares on a pre-consolidation basis, and more than 24.4 million performance shares post-consolidation.

Select is planning to consolidate its issued share capital so its share price will be at least 20 cents.

Using today’s share price of 0.006 cents per share for Select, the pre-consolidation deal is worth around $10.7 million, while the performance shares, at 20 cents each, would be worth $4.89 million.

Once the consolidation is complete and the shares are issued, the company will re-list on the ASX as rRent.com.au Ltd.

Rent.com.au founder Mark Woschnak will be appointed managing director of the listed company, while non-executive directors will include Garry Garside, Sam McDonagh and John Wood.

Select executive director Phil Warren will also join the board of directors of rent.com.au.

Mr Woschnak said the listing would allow the company, which has had around $10.3 million invested in it since it was established in Scarborough in 2006, to enter a new growth phase.

“For the past seven years we have focused on getting the technology platform right, investing in software, operations, products and services development, as well as alliances and building the necessary critical mass of national rental property content with the property management and agent industry,” Mr Woschnak said.

Mr Woschnak said Rent.com.au listed around 80 per cent of rental properties offered nationally.

“We see the real growth opportunity in offering a total marketplace of rental properties, including an online market for landlords who wish to lease their property privately or obtain quotes and services for the management of their investment property.”

A capital raising will also be launched as part of the transaction, with further details set to be announced in the near future.

The raising will be co-led by Baillieu Holst and GMP Securities, while Grange Consulting Group is the corporate advisor to the transaction.

Select Chairman Ian Macliver said the backdoor listing presented a significant opportunity to tap into forecast growth in the Australian residential rentals market.

“Around 30 per cent of the Australian population currently rent their homes and this number is forecast to grow in line with other developed nations,” Mr Macliver said.

“The acquisition is attractively priced for Select shareholders and Rent.com.au has a solid, sensible and strong growth path that will allow it to significantly expand its business.

The backdoor listing of rent.com.au is the latest in a series of similar moves by Western Australia-based technology companies in 2014.

Previous transactions included Anicoma Brands Corporation moving into the shell of Black Fire Minerals, Cocoon Data Holdings listing via Prime Minerals, Lunalite International listing via White Eagle Resources to become XTD and Mpire Media making its debut on the ASX via Lithex Resources to become Mpire Tech.

Social media platform migme also undertook a backdoor listing this year, through Latin Gold in June, while tech entrepreneur Zhenya Tsvetnenko listed his startup Bitcoin venture, Digital CC trading as digitalBTC, through the shell of Macro Energy in that same month.