Today Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) released its share purchase plan (SPP) to eligible shareholders to fund the merger of Sezzle Inc
(ASX: SZL).
Here’s why I would be avoiding it for now.
Key details
Before diving into the nitty-gritty of the SPP, here are the key details:
- Zip is raising $50 million from registered shareholders as of February 25
- The new shares will be issued the lesser of:
- $1.90
- a 2% discount to the volume weighted average price (VWAP) in the five days before and including April 1
- Registered shareholders will be eligible to purchase a minimum of $2,000 and a maximum of $30,000 of Zip shares
- The SPP opens today and will close on April 1
Zip previously raised $148.7 million from institutional investors at $1.90.
All shareholders will receive more information on the SPP at their registered mail address.
Alternatively, for more details on the SPP, check out www.zipspp.com.
Why is Zip undertaking an SPP?
An SPP is when a company offers existing shareholders an opportunity to purchase new shares.
Often the company is requesting more money to fund growth ambitions or to purchase another business.
In Zip’s case, it’s both:
“Zip intends to use the proceeds of the Placement and the SPP to help Zip strengthen its balance sheet and position Zip for sustainable growth by providing more capital runway to execute on potential synergies from [the Sezzle merger]”
The benefit of share purchase plans for shareholders is two-fold.
Firstly, the price offered in the SPP is typically below
the current share price. Therefore, current shareholders have the benefit of buying more shares at a lower price than new investors.
Secondly, SPP typically has no brokerage, meaning you don’t have to pay a commission to buy shares.
Why I’d be avoiding the Zip SPP for now
With the Zip share price currently trading at $1.60, it’s likely that the new shares will be issued at the VWAP in the 5 days up to and including April 1.
But given the volatility of the Zip share price, it’s difficult to know what that price will be.
Therefore if you want to participate in the plan, I’d suggest waiting until closer to the SPP closure date.
That way you’ll be able to approximate what the 5-day VWAP will be and make a decision to either buy on market or via the SPP.
Editor’s note: The author inaccurately stated Zip shareholders should purchase on market if the Zip share price was below $1.90 and did not include the SPP will be priced at the lower of $1.90 or the 5-day VWAP of Zip.
