Technicolor, the French audiovisual group and STB maker, has raised €191m through a dual-tranche capital increase led by US technology investment firm Vector Capital.
The first part of the transaction took place on 16 July and saw Vector’s…
Technicolor, the French audiovisual group and STB maker, has raised €191m through a dual-tranche capital increase led by US technology investment firm Vector Capital.
The first part of the transaction took place on 16 July and saw Vector’s investment vehicle Petalite fully subscribe to approximately 47.47 million shares through a reserved capital increase raising €94.943m.
The second tranche took the form of a rights issue to the company’s existing shareholders. The offering, which was completed on 10 August, was substantially oversubscribed with total orders of 88.45 million shares representing 143.5% of the designated shares to be issued.
The rights issue netted gross proceeds of €96.1m corresponding to the issuance of 61.643 million new shares at €1.56 per share. The settlement of the new shares on the Euronext Paris took place on 14 August.
Petalite had committed to subscribe up to 75% of the rights issue but the strong shareholder demand meant that it was not required to do so and the company was eventually allocated 20.64 million shares.
As such, upon completion, Vector Capital now holds a 20.87% stake in Technicolor. Two Vector representatives, Alexander Slusky and David Fishman, will also join the Technicolor board.
Morgan Stanley was the lead manager and bookrunner on the transaction while Lazard Frères was joint lead manager.
Technicolor stated that the €191m proceeds would be used reduce its debt burden, increase headroom for financial covenants and help the group implement its “Amplify 2015” strategic roadmap, which outlines the company’s plans over the next three years to significantly de-lever while increasing both adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow generation.
