Serko seeks up to $22m in IPO
Serko, the online business travel booking company, is seeking up to $22 million in an initial public offer, which it will use to fund growth aspirations across the Asia Pacific region.
The Auckland-based company will sell 15.5 million new shares at $1.10 apiece, raising some $17m, and a further 4.5m existing shares worth $5m will be sold into the offer as part of a main board listing on the NZX.
The offer will have a retail component, and open on June 4, closing on June 19, with a listing expected on June 24.
Founders Darrin Grafton and Bob Shaw will each retain about 20 per cent and have agreed not to sell any more shares until two days after Serko announces its 2016 annual result.
Of the $17m raised, $11.3m will be held to fund capital initiatives and pay for the $438,000 cost of the IPO, $3.4m will repay bank debt and $2.3m will repay shareholder loans, according to its prospectus lodged with the Companies Office.
Serko is the first of two software companies announcing NZX listings on Monday, a trend that's been growing on the local bourse as investors become more comfortable with the strategy of eschewing short-term profits in the hope of grabbing larger market share.
Xero, which develops cloud-based accounting software, has been the pin-up child for the strategy, raising $180m to fund a push into the US.
Chief executive Darren Grafton name-checked Xero several times during a media briefing in Auckland, saying Serko's use of travel agencies as a reseller of its software was similar to Xero's use of accountants.
The software-as-a-service company is forecasting losses for its 18-month forecast horizon, but chairman Simon Botherway said he doesn't anticipate raising more funds with Serko expected to be operationally cash-flow positive by the end of 2016.
"We anticipate that we won't have to come back to market," he said.
"We're not out there in the never-never with endless calls on capital."
