Geoff Wilson isn’t letting a wobbly showing for the WAM Income Maximiser IPO keep him down.
Taking time out from lambasting the Albanese government’s plan to tax unrealised gains for super accounts with more than $3 million, the investment manager has pressed play on a shareholder vote that will allow it to issue up to 75 million additional shares – the equivalent of $125 million raised at the last share price of $1.68 (though raises are usually done at a discount).
If all goes to plan, the placement will see WAM Income Maximiser listed investment company almost double in size after raising $150 in April.
Wilson had originally targeted $510 million but was buffeted by Trump’s trade chaos and a 14 per cent decline in the S&P/ASX 200 from peak to trough. Some investors also expressed confusion with the structure, a mix of debt and equity. The LIC has since risen 12 per cent to $1.68, has $168 million market cap and is trading at an 8 per cent premium to the NTA.
WAM Income Maximiser follows in the footsteps of other private credit LIT raises in the months after the IPO. Wilson’s, however, will seek investor approval at an extraordinary general meeting scheduled for August 25. It’s safe to assume the capital raising will occur soon after, just in time for the September dividend bonanza. The fund originally targeted a 60/40 split between equities and debt and has pivoted harder into equities as sharemarkets rallied.
Brokers on the ticket? We can only assume WAM will call in its group of nine – Taylor Collison, Morgans Financial, Shaw and Partners, E&P Capital, Ord Minnett, Canaccord Genuity, Bell Potter, Shaw and Partners and Commonwealth Securities.
