WANdisco plans equity fundraise of $30m towards end of June to create 'positive path forward'

In a statement, WANdisco said: “Having reviewed the various options, the board believes the most appropriate strategy is to launch an equity fundraise towards the end of June of $30m to build balance sheet strength in order for the company to take advantage of the significant opportunities ahead.

"The company will commence a consultative process with investors to assess the potential for the proposed fundraise, balancing all the different priorities and risks.

The statement added: “The resumption of trading in the company's shares on AIM will occur as soon as practicable, following careful consideration by the board and in discussion with AIM Regulation. In any case, this will be after the completion of the proposed fundraise. A further announcement will be made as appropriate.”

Ken Lever, Chairman of WANdisco plc, commented: "We have been working at pace to deal with the issues the company has faced and create a positive path forward.

"A lot has been achieved and I am particularly pleased to now have a world class CEO and CFO in place, who are both energised to see the c ompany through this difficult period.

"Having now been in the business for some six weeks, there is no doubt in my mind that the company should have a very bright future given its differentiated technology.

"However, improvements across sales and marketing need to be made to properly take advantage of the opportunity. To do this, the business needs to be urgently properly capitalised and so today we are announcing our desire to raise $30 m towards the end of June. Unfortunately, much of this capital requirement is a direct result of the issues that led to our announcement on 9 March.

“On completion of the fund raise I believe that the company can have a bright future".

In early March, WANdisco revealed that, following investigations undertaken by the then CFO and CEO, “significant, sophisticated and potentially fraudulent irregularities with regard to received purchase orders and related revenue and bookings, as represented by one senior sales employee, have been discovered”.

The group, which is headquartered in Sheffield and California, asked for its shares on London’s junior Aim market to be suspended in March pending a probe by its external legal and professional advisers.

In late April, an independent investigation undertaken by FRP Advisory on behalf of WANdisco concluded that “the evidence...supports the initial view that the irregularities are as a result of the actions of one senior sales employee only”.

The company was set up in 2005 and floated in 2012.