Merian Chrysalis planning £100m+ capital raise – Merian Chrysalis, the UK-focused unquoteds investor, announced on 10 September 2019 that it intends to raise new capital under the its placing programme, to the amount of more than £100m in the form of new ordinary shares. MERI has now announced that the placing price will be 120p per share and, following the placing, the NAV per share is expected to be in the region of 114p per share. The placing price therefore represents a circa 5% premium to the post transaction NAV per share.
In addition to new capital for pipeline investments, the MERI currently intends to allocate approximately 50% of the placing’s proceeds, dependent on its overall size, to a number of existing portfolio holdings some of which will be subject to certain consents being obtained. This will allow the portfolio to maintain its positions in core holdings and means that a substantial proportion of the net proceeds of the placing will be deployed quickly.
Following completion of the placing, MERI adds that it is expected the additional shares will be acquired imminently from Merian Global Investors’s open-ended UK small- and mid-cap equity funds. It is currently anticipated that the interests will be purchased at a modest discount to the latest valuation of those assets (making them NAV accretive.
Earlier in April 2019, we note that MERI raised raised gross proceeds of £100m.
Recent additions to the portfolio include:
- Embark Group Limited, one of the UK’s fastest growing digital retirement platform.
- Klarna Holding AB, one of Europe’s most valuable fintech firm.
- Sorted Holdings Limited, one of the UK’s most disruptive SaaS companies.
About MERI
MERI aims to generate long-term capital growth through investing in a portfolio consisting primarily of equity or equity related investments in unquoted companies. The fund will look to invest in attractively valued minority, private investments with long-term growth rates substantially better than the average UK plc. Once fully invested, it is expected that the company’s portfolio will typically consist of between 7 and 15 investments.
MERI believes that private markets represent an attractive investment opportunity. With many businesses choosing to stay private for longer, the market is growing in significance and the opportunity for investment in high-growth, pre-IPO companies is increasingly compelling. MERI will look to make private investments in companies where the valuation appears attractive, particularly against a listed market background. These businesses are typically at an advanced stage of private ownership and beginning to consider an IPO.
MERI: Merian Chrysalis planning £100m+ capital raise
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