In the AFR Street Talk yesterday morning:

https://www.afr.com/street-talk/droneshield-readies-120m-equity-raise-bells-shaws-on-ticket-20240731-p5jxuy

Divisive small cap DroneShield, which plunged 43 per cent within a week after having its valuation questioned in a news interview, was out rattling the tin on Wednesday morning.

Street Talk understands Bell Potter, Macquarie Capital and Shaw and Partners were shopping a $120 million placement at $1.15 per share, which was a 17.3 per cent discount to the last close and 18.9 per cent lower than the five-day volume-weighted average price. It represented 13.7 per cent of shares on issue.

Term sheets sent to fund managers said DroneShield would spend $90 million on its technology development plan and $20 million on strategic bolt-on acquisitions. It has said it has a $1.1 billion pipeline, and is capitalised at $1 billion on the ASX – but only made $55.1 million revenue and $9.3 million profit last year. Bids were due 5pm Wednesday.

The raise would take DroneShield’s cash balance from $146 million to $266 million. Shares in the drone detection and defence company last traded at $1.39 apiece to be up 266 per cent this year.

It last raised $100 million at 80¢ a share, which was a 28 per cent discount to the last close and 19 per cent lower than the five-day volume-weighted average price. That raise, done in April, was used to accelerate delivery of its counter-drone systems to meet customer demand.