Seafarms to raise up to $24m

Farmed prawns producer Seafarms Group has raised $20 million via a share placement, and will conduct a share purchase plan to raise up to $4 million along with a $3 million debt-to-equity conversion.

The funds raised are set to progress the early works programs for its Project Sea Dragon.

Sea Dragon is an industrial scale aquaculture project at Legune Station in the Northern Territory, in which Seafarms so far has invested around $100 million over an eight-year period.

It secured a 90-year sublease agreement at the Legune Station site in December.

Under the placement, Seafarms issued the shares at a price of 9 cents each, a discount of 11.68 per cent discount to its five-day volume-weighted average price.

Bell Potter Securities acted as lead manager to the placement.

The share purchase plan will also have an issue price of 9 cents per share.

The capital raising also includes a debt-to-equity conversion of $3 million, again at 9 cents per share, by Seafarms executive chairman Ian Trahar, subject to shareholder approval.

Mr Trahar said the debt-to-equity conversion highlights his own confidence in development.

“This equity raising will place the company in a strong position to further progress the early works programs for Project Sea Dragon,” he said.

Shares in Seafarms were down 9.5 per cent to trade at 9.5 cents each at 2.30pm AEDT.