Kathmandu raises $40M for US footwear purchase

Kathmandu raises $40M via institutional share placement for US footwear purchase

By Rebecca Howard

March 21 (BusinessDesk) - Kathmandu Holdings, the outdoor equipment retailer, successfully raised $40 million through an institutional share placement of approximately 18.5 million new fully paid ordinary shares, it said in a release to the stock exchange.

The shares were issued at $2.16, a 10 percent discount to the closing price of $2.40 on March 19. Settlement is scheduled to occur on Friday and Monday for the ASX and NZX respectively, with allotment of all shares Monday. The company also intends to raise as much as $10 million selling shares to eligible retail shareholders in Australia and New Zealand for the same $2.16 share price as institutional investors.

“The placement was oversubscribed and very well supported by our existing institutional shareholders, with strong demand also coming from new institutional shareholders. We look forward to completing the share purchase plan component of the offer, which opens on March 26," said chief executive Xavier Simonet.

The funds raised will be used to pay for its purchase of US footwear supplier Oboz Footwear for US$60 million in cash and a potential earn-out of up to US$15 million based on an earnings target for the 2018 calendar year, and Kathmandu expects acquisition costs of about $2 million.

“The acquisition of Oboz represents a unique and exciting opportunity to expand our presence in the key North American outdoor wholesale market. We are pleased to see such strong support from our shareholders, which is an endorsement of our strategy to accelerate Kathmandu’s international growth," said Simonet.

The company's shares have gained 22 percent the past year.

(BusinessDesk)

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