In view of the rally on Wall Street and the open window for offerings, more Israeli companies are holding secondary offerings. Now, Camtek Ltd. (Nasdaq: CAMT; TASE:CAMT) and AudioCodes Ltd. (Nasdaq: AUDC; TASE: AUDC) are planning offerings.
On Tuesday, Camtek, a developer of automated optical testing systems for printed circuit boards, filed a shelf prospectus with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to raise up to $50 million. The offering will include an offer to sell by shareholders. AudioCodes announced that it is activating an existing shelf prospectus to raise tens of millions of dollars.
Meanwhile, Magic Software Enterprises Ltd. (Nasdaq: MGIC; TASE: MGIC), which raised $51 million in a secondary offering on Friday, announced yesterday that the underwriters - Barclays Capital Inc., William Blair & Company LLC, Maxim Group LLC, and HC Wainwright & Co. LLC = have exercised their over-allotment options, increasing the amount raised to a gross $58.7 million. Magic, a software provider and IT integrator, has a market cap of $327 million.
AudioCodes, a provider of VoIP solutions, has a market cap of $348 million. It had $62 million in cash at the end of 2013. A few months ago, CEO Shabtai Adlersberg spoke to "Globes" about the possibility of raising capital, saying that no offering was planned, because the company was "financially stable."
However, since AudioCodes' share price is at a seven-year high, it appears that the company is taking the opportunity to increase its cash reserves. Under the shelf prospectus, it can raise up to $75 million. The underwriters are William Blair, Needham & Company LLC and Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., which have an over-allotment option to buy additional shares, which could boost the offering by up to 15%.
AudioCodes says that it intends to use the net proceeds of the offering for general corporate purposes, including working capital requirements and future acquisitions.
The TASE suspended trading in AudioCodes' shares today, until the pricing of the offering.
Camtek prepares for an offering
Camtek has, as mentioned, filed a shelf prospectus with the SEC to raise up to $50 million. When the prospectus is declared effective, its controlling shareholder, Priortech Ltd. (TASE:PRTC), which owns 57% of the company, can sell up to six million Camtek shares (20% of its share capital), which are currently worth $25 million.
It may be that Camtek has decided to keep an option for an offering in playand the offer to sell effective, because its previous shelf prospectus, filed in May 2011, expires in two months. However, this time, its board of directors may decide to exercise it in view of the rally in the company's share price in recent months, which has doubled its market cap to $125 million. The reason for the rally is the company's technology for 3D printing on circuit boards, which is due to reach market at the end of the year, and may greatly boost its revenue.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on March 5, 2014
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