Kape Technologies plc is to raise between £94-171 million in a share placing.
The company, listed and headquartered in London, is an acquisitive digital privacy and security software group.
The owner of ExpressVPN – acquired for almost $1 billion in December 2021 – is eyeing up further acquisitions after executing seven deals over the last five years.
Institutional investors have been invited to participate alongside retail investors via the PrimaryBid platform, with the latter launching tomorrow (Wednesday 14th September).
Shares are priced at 265p apiece. Existing investor Unikmind has subscribed to £94m worth of the available shares.
The company’s share price dropped 5% in the first hour of trading on Tuesday following the announcement, sitting at 277p at the time of writing (8am).
Kape has grown both organically and via acquisitions, deploying over $1.25 billion of capital over the last five years.
“The directors believe Kape has significant opportunities to partner with other businesses operating in the digital privacy market who can benefit from Kape’s technology and leading market position,” read the company statement.
“Ongoing turbulent global market conditions have given rise to a number of highly attractive potential acquisition opportunities at compelling valuations which Kape believes could enhance the group’s offering.
“The directors believe that the fundraising, together with the group’s strong free cash flow generation and existing debt facilities of $200m, will significantly enhance Kape’s ability to accelerate its growth through acquisitions.”