University student housing developer and operator, 138 Student Living (138SL) has convened an emergency general meeting (EGM) for March 20 for shareholders to vote on five resolutions paving the way for an additional public offer (APO) of shares to raise capital for growing the business.
The EGM is set to take place at the Rio Bueno Suite, The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston, starting at 10:00 am. The resolutions were approved by the board at its meeting on February 7.
The resolutions on which shareholders will be asked to vote are as follows:
· That the authorised share capital of the company be increased from 480,500,000 ordinary shares at no par value and 94,500,000 cumulative redeemable preference shares to unlimited authorised share capital.
· That the company be and is hereby authorised to issue up to 775,000,000 ordinary shares by way of an offer for subscription to the public pursuant to a prospectus (the APO) in lieu of a rights issue to existing stockholders.
· That the Board of Directors of the Company and/or any duly appointed Committee of the Board of Directors be and is hereby authorized to determine in their discretion any terms and conditions relating to the APO.
· That any pre-emption rights to which the existing stockholders may be entitled, howsoever arising, be and are hereby dis-applied for the purposes of the APO.
· That all ordinary shares issued in the APO once issued and allotted be and are hereby converted into stock units.
Proceeds from APO
The proceeds of the planned APO are needed to pay down debt while financing current and future development. 138SL last went to the equities market in November 2014 when it went public through its successful initial public offer (IPO) of shares raising J$562.9 million from a float of ordinary and redeemable preference shares.
The IPO includes 98.6 million ordinary shares priced at $4 and 33.68 million floating rate preference shares for $5 each. 138SL engages in the construction and lease of living facilities for students at the University of the West Indies, Mona campus. The company was founded on August 15, 2014 and is headquartered in Kingston.
In the meantime, 138SL has on boarded GK Capital Management Limited (GK Capital) as its Financial Advisor. Under the partnership, GK Capital will review strategic equity financing options for 138SL including the planned APO.
138SL is a real estate investment company that operates in the hospitality sector. Together with its subsidiary, 138 Restoration Limited, 138SL engages in the designing, financing, and renting of student accommodation at the University of the West Indies, Mona. As of September 30, 2022, the company operated 1,464 rooms in three locations on the UWI Mona Campus, with 1,800 beds.
