Specialist investor Mercia Technologies is to raise £40m from a share placing to fund new acquisitions and bolster its existing portfolio companies.
The Henley-in-Arden based company will conditionally place 86.9 million shares at 46p each.
A statement released on the London Stock Exchange said the primary purpose of the move is to “accelerate the development” of portfolio companies and invest in further businesses across the UK.
“The number of opportunities has been significantly enhanced through the acquisition of Enterprise Ventures Group in March 2016 which took the number of investee technology companies in the group’s third party managed funds from circa 35 to circa 150,” it added.
Mercia’s directors also “unanimously believe that the placing will significantly enhance shareholder value over the medium term”.
Chief executive Mark Payton said: “The placing is the next step in Mercia’s exciting growth journey. Since IPO in December 2014, we have made substantial progress in establishing Mercia as a leading investor in innovative companies across the UK’s capital-underserved regions.
“We have a growing portfolio of direct investments where we see significant exit potential in the years ahead, as recently demonstrated by the sale of Allinea Software to ARM.
“Moreover, we have a greatly enlarged pipeline of future investment prospects in our substantial managed funds, underpinning our confidence in the potential to increase capital deployment over the next few years.”
Mercia invests in a range of sectors, including digital entertainment, life sciences and software.
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