LONDON: Directa Plus (AIM: DCTA), renowned for its graphene nanoplatelets products, is embarking on a fundraising venture to secure a minimum of £6.8 million and up to £6.9 million. The initiative involves a conditional placing and subscription, aiming to issue up to 38,361,106 new ordinary shares at 18p each.

The company’s largest shareholder, Nant Capital, LLC, has agreed to a substantial subscription for 22,222,222 new shares, aligning with the company’s directors who intend to acquire 555,555 shares collectively after the year-end results are published.

The fundraising is subject to shareholder approval at an upcoming general meeting, with the anticipation of a Rule 9 Waiver to prevent Nant Capital from a mandatory takeover offer, despite their potential post-fundraising voting power exceeding 30%. This strategic financial move is designed to bolster Directa Plus’s market position and fuel its growth in the consumer and industrial sectors.

Richard Hickinbotham, Non-Executive Chairman, commented: “Directa Plus has made consistent progress towards its goal of commercialising its graphene products and processes with a high quality, growing roster of customers. The Fundraising will enable the Company to accelerate that progress by providing funds for investment in what the Board considers to be exciting opportunities.  We look forward to beginning the next phase of growth.”

The Company is seeking to raise capital to invest in line with its strategic plan and accelerate its path to profitability.

The proposed use of proceeds is:

• £1.5 million for the Setcar acquisition, with approximately £860,000 being utilised to repay the loan provided by Nant Capital, LLC (which was used to part pay the €1.5 million acquisition of the minority interest (49%) in Setcar) alongside £0.6 million to strengthen the internal cash resources of Setcar;
• £1.1 million for capital expenditure in dedicated equipment within the Environmental division and improvements in the production line with a Nitrogen production unit to replace Argon; and
• £2.4 million for capital for growth by strengthening the commercial and operational capabilities of the Directa Plus team:
• £1.0 million for new hires for the internal salesforce alongside agents and professional services to access to new markets (US and Asia) and adding a new expert engineer alongside additional technical and operating hires in Setcar;
• £0.4 million to strengthen the operational capabilities and professional support to improve the production line and further the direct cost reduction;
• £0.5 million to maintain momentum on other opportunities focused on research and development.

The remaining balance of the Fundraising (if any) will go towards general working capital needs to support growth and provide additional balance sheet strength.