Acquisition will be funded by proceeds from the company&rsquo s larger fundraising and debt capitalisation exercise

 

JASPER Investments announced that it has agreed to acquire a 51 per cent stake in Prosper Excel Engineering for S$7.5 million.

 

The acquisition will be funded by proceeds from the marine player&rsquo s larger fundraising and debt capitalisation exercise, the company said on Tuesday (Jun 25).

 

The proposed acquisition aims to &ldquo tap on the core strengths&rdquo of Prosper, which include its network of vessel owners and offshore support vessel operators. 

 

It said that the purchase was &ldquo aligned with the group&rsquo s focus and commitment to grow and expand its core businesses in the marine and offshore industry&rdquo , and that it expects the acquisition to have a material impact on the group&rsquo s position in the current financial year.

 

As part of the company&rsquo s fundraising and debt capitalisation exercise, Jasper has also entered into additional subscription agreements with new investors, it announced in a separate announcement.

 

The company reported an issue and allotment of an additional 8.6 billion shares at S$0.0015 apiece to new investors, for an aggregate consideration of about S$13 million payable in cash.

 

It also noted its plans to upsize the investment of certain existing investors from an earlier placement, with a total of 1.2 billion new shares. Existing investor Mezzanine, a legaltech company, accounts for the largest proportion of the upsized investment, with 536.7 million new shares. 

 

The issue price for the additional placement shares represents a discount of about 81 per cent to the stock&rsquo s volume-weighted average price on Jun 24, the full market day preceding the date when additional placement agreements were signed.

 

The marine player said that the additional funding will be used to strengthen the company&rsquo s balance sheet, pursue its growth plans, and provide funding for its working capital needs for the next 24 months. 

 

Mainboard-listed Jasper Investments reported it has received more than S$22 million of total funding commitments, with more than S$9 million from an initial funding exercise that was previously announced on Jun 6.

 

The S$9 million in capital was secured through the placement of some 6.2 billion shares, tagged with 3.1 billion new free warrants. 

 

The net proceeds from the issue and allotment of additional placement shares stand at an estimated total of S$21.8 million.

 

The company noted that it plans to use about 60 per cent of net proceeds for the development of its businesses, such as the acquisition of assets. 

 

About 25 per cent of the net proceeds are expected to be used for the establishment and operation of a marine finance joint venture with Lyte Ventures. The remaining 15 per cent is expected to be committed towards the working capital needs of the group. 

 

Jasper Investments was placed on SGX&rsquo s watch list on Jun 6, 2023, as it had recorded pre-tax losses for three consecutive financial years.