Listed agricultural property trust Rural Funds Group is raising up to $15 million through a share placement and rights share offering to cut its debt and partly fund the development of an almond orchard.
The fund raising will comprise a $7.5m share placement to investors and another $7.5m through a 2-for-33 non-renounceable rights entitlement offer to existing shareholders. The shares will be issued at $1.05 each, a 0.9 per cent discount to yesterday’s closing price of $1.06. Rural Funds Group shares are currently in a trading halt.
The proceeds will be used to pay down borrowings, and to part fund the development of a 600-hectare almond orchard on the Tocabil property in New South Wales.
RFG acquired the 6,900-hectare property in October 2014 and earlier this month signed a 22-year lease with Olam Orchards Australia to develop and operate the almond orchard.
Wilson HTM is the lead manager for the capital raising.
The group was formed through the merger of three unlisted funds that owned chicken farms, vineyards and almonds, and listed on the ASX in February 2014.
This article first appeared in The Australian Business Review
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