(News Bulletin 247) – The manufacturer of electronics boxes announces the success of its capital increase intended to strengthen its finances. Egide now has free rein to steer the recovery of its American subsidiaries.

Egide secures its financial future. The manufacturer of electronics boxes announced Tuesday evening after the market the success of its capital increase launched last month.

In detail, Egide raised 1.92 million euros through the issue of 2.96 million new shares. The price of the newly issued shares had been set at 65 cents per share, ie a discount of 26.4% compared to the closing price on Friday August 11, the session preceding the announcement of the capital increase. Settlement-delivery of these new shares is scheduled for September 7.

A new shareholder

The capital increase was already secured. It was fully guaranteed by La Compagnie Nationale de Navigation, a company chaired by Patrick Molis, an entrepreneur in the maritime transport, logistics, energy, aeronautics and defense businesses.

In addition to securing this fundraising, the French shipping company has entered into a bond issue and subscription contract for an amount of 750,000 euros. The loan, maturing on December 14, 2023, will be repayable in cash or, subject to the approval of the general meeting of Egide shareholders, in shares.

In total, the company therefore recovers approximately 2.67 million euros via the capital increase and this bond issue. In return for this financial support, this company will appoint a director within Egide, for as long as it holds more than 5% of the capital. This will be its president, Patrick Molis.

For GreenSome Finance, the entry into the capital of the Compagnie Nationale de Navigation will allow Egide to “be able to rely on a committed shareholder and benefit from the latter to ‘open’ doors from a commercial point of view”.

On the Paris Stock Exchange, the market appreciates the success of the operation, the Egide share taking nearly 8% around 11:40 am. This fresh money provides financial visibility for the box manufacturer, which will be able to calmly lead the recovery of its American subsidiaries.

Initiate the recovery of American subsidiaries

Egide found himself in a complicated situation. The company had seen its profitability deteriorate sharply in recent months, penalized by the poor performance of its American activities (Egide USA and Sentier), which represented more than half of 2022 revenues, due in particular to difficulties in procurement and staff recruitment.

In April, the company had initially decided to sell these American activities and had tied a non-binding letter of intent with a buyer, which then put an end to the discussions. It is therefore Egide alone that will steer this recovery and the reorganization of its subsidiaries thanks to the funds resulting from the capital increase and the bond issue.

The reorganization of the American activities involved the resignation of Jim Collins from his post of director and his departure as an employee at the end of September 2023. A new management team will be put in place in the United States and will have the objective of relaunching the two subsidiaries , Egide USA and Trail.

The money raised by Egide will also be used to finance the company’s working capital needs as well as the recruitment of a sales team to boost sales. The manufacturer of boxes for electronics thus plans to refocus on the defense and aerospace markets, which it considers “strongly growing and with higher added value” than the historic telecoms industry.

The company took its first steps on the stock market in 1999, then in the midst of an “internet bubble” and experienced a wild boom (with a peak of more than 500 euros in November 2000), thanks to the boom in demand from the telecom market in when deploying mobile networks. The bursting of the “Internet bubble” then forced the group to refocus severely, causing the company to lose 98% of its value in a few years. The action even hit a historic low in the spring of 2020, below 50 cents.