Hyve Group PLC (LON:HYVE) has announced an underwritten rights issue alongside other measures to secure its future amid the coronavirus crisis.
The trade shows organiser proposed to raise £126.6mln by issuing nine new ordinary shares at 69p each for every 40 existing ordinary shares – a 68% discount to Wednesday’s closing price.
READ: Hyve mulls equity fundraise to secure long-term prospects
The issue is fully underwritten by corporate broker Numis, Barclays and HSBC.
The FTSE 250-listed firm is also proposing to turn ten existing ordinary shares in one consolidated share, conditional to the issue.
Hyve has been hit hard by global shutdowns and was forced to reschedule 48 events, while 13 were cancelled.
Management reckons there may be some improvement over the next months, as some Chinese trade shows have resumed, albeit not organised by Hyve.
Revenue for the year to September is expected to take an £80mln hit, dropping 20% on last year.
It has identified costs savings of £10mln in the current financial year and of £42mln in the following period.
Half-year results hit by lockdowns
In a separate announcement, Hyve posted 11% lower revenue at £96mln in the six months to 31 March.
Last year’s interim profit before tax of £2mln swung to a loss of £168mln after £167mln of cash impairments due to the pandemic.
Dividends were suspended and future distributions will be kept under review and subject to bank waiver restrictions.
Shares slipped 8% to 19.78p on Thursday morning.