Join our daily newsletter At The Bell to receive exclusive market insights
- Sanitation company Aeris Environmental (AEI) is set to raise $12 million through a 43-cent share placement
- The company tapped institutional and sophisticated investors for the funds
- The money will be used to support large-scale production and expand Aeris’ distribution network
- Since the COVID-19 outbreak, demand for Aeris’ products has surged as people strive to keep their homes and hands clean
- Today, Aeris shares are trading 19.6 per cent higher at 61 cents per share
Sanitation specialist Aeris Environmental (AEI) has tapped institutional and sophisticated investors for $12 million through a nicely-discounted placement.
Aeris has locked in the funding by offering 28 million new shares at 43 cents per share. This represents a 15.69 per cent discount to Aeris’ last closing price of 51 cents each.
The company said the funds will be used to support more efficient and large-scale production as demand for its sanitiser products surges.
Aeris Chairman Maurie Stang said the company is particularly grateful for the support from institutions in today’s placement.
“The company has recently outlined the increasing adoption of its entire portfolio of innovative products, and the growth of its distribution network comprising many industry leaders with large customer bases and a strong commitment to building the Aeris brand in both vertical and geographical markets around the world,” Maurie said.
COVID-19 cash
Aeris is one of the listed companies cashing in from the global COVID-19 pandemic.
In February, the company’s Aeris Active disinfectant product made the Singapore National Environmental Agency’s list of products effective against COVID-19.
This was a month after Aeris had already told shareholders demand for its products in China was spiking as the country tried to fight the initial outbreak of the virus.
In mid-March, once the virus had officially been declared a pandemic and wrought havoc on economies across the globe, Aeris’ product was further validated by a Sydney lab.
Eurofins AMS Laboratories, a biopharma product-testing group, found Aeris Active capable of killing a strand of coronavirus with 99.99 per cent efficiency in just 60 seconds. While the virus tested was not COVID-19, it was a surrogate virus part of the coronavirus family and often used as a COVID-19 substitute in published studies.
Since the boost in demand for the Aeris brand, the company says it’s no longer just the Aeris Active disinfectant product getting attention. The company said its AerisGuard anti-corrosion product and its Actisan hand sanitiser range have also seen increased international demand.
Today’s placement boosts Aeris’ balance sheet to support the increase in demand and expand the company’s distribution network.
Investors seem to have taken well to today’s news, with Aeris shares so far going against the norm and rising further from the discounted placement price.
At 1:07 pm AEDT, shares in Aeris are 19.6 per cent higher at 61 cents each.
