Venture Life raising £18.75m ahead of Dentyl, BB Mints acquisitions

Consumer care products company Venture Life announced the conditional placing of up to 46,875,000 new ordinary shares at a price of 40p each on Friday, to raise approximately £18.75m before expenses.

The AIM-traded firm also announced the proposed acquisition of the Dentyl Dual Action mouthwash and BB Mints business for £4.2m, payable in cash, and the proposed repayment of the convertible bonds and Biokosmes vendor loan notes for around £3.7m in aggregate.

It said the balance of the net placing proceeds would be used to support the continued growth of the business, and to explore potential strategic acquisition opportunities.

The placing had been arranged by Cenkos Securities, in its capacity as sole bookrunner.

Venture Life said the proposed placing was “significantly” oversubscribed, with expected net proceeds receivable by the company of about £17.5m.

It said the acquisition was expected to be earnings-enhancing in the first full financial year following completion, adding that it was looking for “significant” strengthening of its balance sheet, with additional cash and the repayment of convertible bonds and Biokosmes vendor loan notes.

“The Dentyl acquisition and the placing represents a significant step for Venture Life in our strategy to accelerate growth and build on the success of the UltraDEX acquisition and leverage our operating platform,” said Venture Life chief executive officer Jerry Randall.

“We are excited about the opportunity that Dentyl brings to the group and, as with UltraDEX, we expect to be able to reverse the declining sales in the brand and deliver revenue growth in our first full year of ownership.

“The additional funds raised through the placing also enable us to repay certain of our indebtedness and provide cash for working capital purposes to support the enlarged business whilst strengthening our balance sheet and enabling us to evaluate further potential strategic mergers and acquisitions.”