Last month, the NZX-listed company announced it had applied to dual list on the Australian stock exchange as a foreign exempt entity.
About a week after that, the ASX uploaded information about a $70million capital raise at $1.20 a share to close on September 10 for Pacific Edge.
Bell Potter, Jarden Australia and Forsyth Barr were named as advisers to the offer.
Pacific Edge quickly halted its share trading on the NZX for several hours to release a statement saying its board had not approved any capital raising and that the information was incorrect.
The following day, the company released another statement saying it wanted to reconfirm that statement.
Last Friday, National Business Review analysis speculated on whether an acquisition approach could be the reason for the company’s ASX listing awkwardness.
It also speculated that, contrary to the denials from Pacific Edge, the three lead managers named in the disclosure had been working on an Australian share offer for some time and that the plan awaited only board sign-off when the outline was filed to the ASX.
Pacific Edge was approached for comment on Monday and Tuesday by the Otago Daily Times but declined to comment, referring back to its earlier statement released to the NZX.
Craigs Investment Partners broker Peter McIntyre, of Dunedin, said Pacific Edge was no stranger to capital raises, having done many in the past, but if the firm had denied the information about the $70million capital raise that had to be taken as true and correct.
Mr McIntyre believed there were valid reasons for the company to go to an ASX listing with greater research coverage, greater pool of capital funds available and the ability to raise capital off that market was attractive to a company like Pacific Edge.
