LMIs: Capital Raisings Continue Throughout November

In this edition of the IIR LMI monthly update, we take a look at the key news for the sector in November. The capital raisings continued with Plato Income Maximiser Limited (ASX: PL8) and Metrics Master Income Trust (ASX: MXT) raising or seeking to raise capital.  

Some of the key news items include:

• Cadence Opportunities Fund Limited (ASX: CDO) Lists: On 17 November 2021, CDO listed on the ASX. The Company raised $15.55m as part of the IPO Offer, issuing 5.6m shares at a price of $2.7716 per share (the mid-point of the of the NTA at 31 October 2021). The Company has 15.06m shares on issue and a market cap of $41.9m as at 30 November 2021.
• Plato Income Maximiser Limited (ASX: PL8) Raises $139.5m: During November, PL8 raised $139.5m in total through a Placement to wholesale investors and a Share Purchase Plan (SPP). The Placement to wholesale investors raised $71.3m with the issue of 64.3m
  fully paid ordinary shares at $1.11 per share. The SPP raised $68.2m through the issue of 62m new shares at $1.10 per share. The SPP was oversubscribed with the Company targeting $50m, however the Company decided not to scale back any applications.
• Metrics Master Income Trust (ASX: MXT) Seeking to Raise $440m: On 28 October 2021, MXT announced a Unit Purchase Plan (UPP) proposing to issue 220.8m new units at a price of $2.00 per unit. The Trust is targeting to raise ~$441.6m. While the Trust maintains the
  flexibility to accept applications in excess of the target raise amount, applications in excess of this amount may also be scaled back. The Offer closed on 30 November 2021 with an Issue Date of 3 December 2021. New units are expected to commence trading on 6
  December 2021.
• APL Shareholders Approve Scheme to Exchange Shares for Units in AGX1: On 24 November 2021, Antipodes Global Investment Company Limited (ASX: APL) announced that shareholders had approved the Scheme to exchange APL shares for units in the Antipodes Global Shares (Quoted Managed Fund) (ASX: AGX1). Shareholders voted
  overwhelmingly in favour of the Scheme, with 99.65% of eligible shareholders voting ‘for’ the Scheme. The Scheme remains subject to court approval with a court date scheduled for 7 December 2021. If court approval is received, APL shareholders will exchange their
  shares for units in AGX1 on the Implementation Date (17 December 2021).
• The PAF Board Committee Recommends Shareholders Reject WAM’s Takeover Bid and Vote In Favour of PGF’s Merger Proposal: The Directors of the PM Capital Asian Opportunities Fund Limited (ASX: PAF) who comprise the PAF Board Committee have recommended that PAF shareholders reject the takeover bid by WAM Capital Limited (ASX: WAM) and vote in favour of the merger with PM Capital Global Opportunities Fund Limited (ASX: PGF). The recommendation was based on the outcomes of the Independent Expert’s Report. 
• WHF Declares Interim Dividend of 10.25 cents per share: During the month, WHF released the half year results to 30 September 2021. Investment revenue increased 86.4% to $9.98m for the period and NPAT was up 106.5% to $8.0m. The growth in earnings was largely attributed to the partial reversal of the dividend cuts experienced by a large number of businesses in the first six months of the pandemic during 2020 with the most material contributors to earnings growth coming from companies that had heavily cut or not paid dividends in the previous period.
  The Company declared an interim dividend of 10.25 cents per share, fully franked. The Company announced that it expects to maintain the dividend level for the full year dividend following the financial year end at 31 March 2022. The NTA per share both pre and post
  deferred capital gains tax, performed strongly over the 12-months to 30 September 2021, up 26.4% and 20.9%, respectively.
• 61% of Capital Raised by QRI Already Deployed: In late October 2021, QRI raised $171.6m through an Entitlement and Shortfall Offer. The capital raised was to be deployed in line
  with the investment strategy over a three-to-six month period. In the Performance Update for October 2021 released to the market on 15 November 2021, the Fund announced that it had already deployed and allocated 61% of the capital raised to new loans. The swift deployment of the capital raised reflects the strong pipeline identified by the Manager.

See all the details in the attached report.