Kiwi honey exporter Comvita bolsters future with $25 million capital raise

Kiwi honey producer Comvita has raised $25 million in a bid to shore up its long term future.

Earlier this month the company went to the market with a rights offer to all shareholders, of up to $30million at 65 cents a share.

The offer was partially underwritten by F&N Ventures, a subsidiary of Singapore-listed consumer group Fraser and Neave, who planned to join the Comvita register as a strategic investor with a 19.99 percent stake following completion of the offer.

For the F&N investment proposal to proceed however, it was contingent on a minimum shareholder of 36 percent of shareholders taking up the rights offer, along with F&N's shortfall commitment.

The company said it had achieved that threshold with approximately NZ$13.2 million, or 44 percent of shareholders participating in the rights issue.

"Comvita has received sufficient acceptances under its Rights Offer that will allow Comvita to successfully complete a minimum capital raise of NZ$25 million", the company said in an update to the New Zealand Stock Exchange.

Proceeds from the rights offer would be used to repay bank debt, with refinancing including a $20 million working capital facility.

Last month, when announcing the rights offer, the company company chair Bridget Coates said the package was the result of an extensive process to recapitalise the business.

"We are pleased to be delivering a structure that provides certainty and participation for all eligible shareholders while minimising dilution for those who do not participate - alongside the introduction of a new investor with genuine strategic relevance to the next phase of Comvita's development," she said.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.