WAM Leaders raises $313M in capital
- WAM Leaders completed its capital raise, securing $313 million across a share purchase plan and institutional placement.
- Shareholders who participated in the SPP purchased new shares at $1.29, representing a 2.5% discount to the 5-day volume-weighted average price.
- The fresh equity expands total assets under management to over $2.2 billion, which the company plans to deploy into Australian large-cap equities.
WAM Leaders (ASX:WLE) has secured $313 million through a combined share purchase plan and placement to deploy into Australian large-cap companies.
The capital raise includes $88 million collected from over 4,700 retail investors via the SPP alongside an earlier upscaled institutional placement completed in August.
"The additional capital gives us the flexibility to act on opportunities we are seeing across the Australian large-cap market, while we stay focused on portfolio outperformance," said WAM Leaders Lead Portfolio Manager Matthew Haupt.
More than 42% of applying shareholders opted for the maximum $30,000 allocation, with new shares expected to begin trading on Sept. 7.
The new shares qualify for an upcoming 4.8 Australian cents per share fully franked final dividend, bringing the full-year payout to 9.6 Australian cents per share.
Following the announcement, the WAM Leaders share price was unchanged at $1.32.
The listed investment company stated that the increased asset base is expected to reduce fixed expense ratios and improve overall operational efficiency for existing investors.
