...this is what happens when you hold onto to your under distress dog ********* for too long, hoping for a recovery. Dubber mulls equity raising at ‘massive’ discount; UCP on the hook Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Mar 5, 2024 – 12.10pm
Whether Dubber Corp lives or dies is up in the air, with the cloud-based call recording software group weighing a capital raising with the help of Unified Capital Partners.
It is understood a decision has not been made on whether to proceed with the cash call, and that talks were at an early-stage. However, Dubber – which voluntarily suspended trading of its shares last week when it identified an accounting anomaly – would need to raise at a “significant” discount for any deal to get over the line, investor sources said.
On Friday, the board announced it had suspended chief executive Steve McGovern after an audit review had become aware of inconsistencies in funds held on behalf of the company by a third-party trustee. It said approximately $3.4 million of these funds had been recovered, but Dubber was still trying to find approximately $26.6 million.
Fund manager sources told this column the company would require about $25 million to $30 million to replace the missing funds, as well as a contingency buffer. The raising offer price would need to be pegged at a discount of at least 60 to 70 per cent to the last close of 22¢ a share for it to succeed, they said.
It is believed UCP, which would likely oversee the raise, is also waiting to see which direction Dubber’s major shareholder, Alex Waislitz’s Thorney Investment Group, wants to take the call recording and voice intelligence software company before launching any deal.
