Prodigal Prospa returns to investors for equity

Online small business lender Prospa has gone back to the drawing board following a dramatic false start to its mooted ASX listing.

Following the 11th-hour shelving of its initial public offering last month, Street Talk understands the company is considering a range of options including a private raising

The company’s co-founders and joint chief executives Beau Bertoli and Greg Moshal are working through how an additional pre-IPO raising would look and the quantum of funds required to fund Prospa’s near-term growth ambitions. The deal size is expected to be at least $40 million, correlating with the amount Prospa’s existing investors were originally looking to inject into the IPO.

The private raise is one of several options being canvassed by Prospa.

The deliberations come after its $576 million listing was pulled just 15 minutes before its co-founders were due to ring the ASX bell.

The fintech, which raised $146.5 million at $3.64 a share through Macquarie Capital and UBS, initially surprised the market with a two-paragraph announcement saying it needed to “answer queries” raised by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. It said the issues related to its business loan terms in the context of an industry-wide review.

Over the past month, Prospa has been fielding inbound offers from local and international investors around providing future growth capital. The company does, however, already have the benefit of a string of supportive backers including AirTree Ventures, Square Peg Capital and Entree Capital all of which had planned to tip fresh funds into the IPO.

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Source: Prodigal Prospa returns to investors for equity | afr.com