archTIS Ltd (ASX:AR9, OTCQB:ARHLF) has successfully closed the retail component of its fully underwritten entitlement offer, completing a $20.46 million equity raising that will fund its acquisition of US-based data security firm Spirion LLC.
The Canberra-headquartered software company said the retail entitlement offer raised about $2.18 million through applications for 14.54 million new shares. The underwriters — Henslow Pty Ltd and Canaccord Genuity (Australia) Ltd — will take up the shortfall of around 63.66 million shares valued at $9.55 million.
Together with the earlier institutional entitlement offer and placement completed o September 3, the capital raising will issue 136.42 million new shares at $0.15 each. Settlement of the retail tranche is due on September 18, with normal trading expected to commence the following day.
Funding Spirion acquisition
Proceeds will be directed primarily towards completing the acquisition of Spirion’s key business assets, alongside associated integration expenses, employee incentives and other related costs.
archTIS announced the Spirion deal in late August, positioning the acquisition as a transformational step in its growth strategy. Spirion brings a customer base of more than 1,500 blue-chip organisations across the US and Europe, as well as expertise in sensitive data discovery and classification.
Managing director Daniel Lai said last month the purchase would accelerate archTIS’s evolution into a leading international information security software provider, adding that Spirion’s product suite was highly complementary to archTIS’s attribute-based access control (ABAC) technologies.
Shareholder support
The board thanked shareholders for their participation and support through the entitlement offer process. Despite the majority of retail entitlements not being taken up, the full underwriting has ensured the company secures the targeted funds to complete its expansion plans.
Global growth trajectory
archTIS’s core platforms — Kojensi, NC Protect and Trusted Data Integration — are already used to safeguard sensitive and classified information in defence, intelligence, government and regulated industry settings. The addition of Spirion’s tools for data discovery, classification and privacy protection is expected to enhance the combined group’s appeal to enterprise and government clients facing mounting cybersecurity and compliance pressures.
The company said the transaction and capital raising provide it with the resources to drive integration, scale recurring revenues, and broaden its global footprint.