Plan to raise $5m by share sales to go to Plus SMS shareholders

Text messaging company Plus SMS Holdings is to put plans to raise $5 million from the sale of shares to an annual meeting of shareholders in Auckland on June 16.

The share offer to Jersey-based investment company Hewon Capital was announced earlier this month, along with a proposal to give Hewon the option to a further 70 million shares at 50c each, with exercise periods ranging between 10 and 20 months.

The option proposal will also be put before the shareholders' meeting.

On Wednesday New Zealand sharemarket operator NZX asked Plus SMS to clarify why its shares had fallen from 70c two weeks earlier to as low as 40c on the day of the explanation request.

The share price was 54c when the market closed yesterday.

Plus SMS's lawyers Jones Young confirmed the company had complied with the stock exchange's continuous disclosure rules but provided no further comment.

Isle of Man-based Plus SMS joined the stock exchange's alternative market, the NZAX, in July last year, in a back-door listing using the shell of failed Christchurch retail management group RetailX.

Its business is based on enabling companies to run global text message campaigns and competitions using single codes.

The New Zealand Herald reported last week that investor confidence in the stock had been hit by speculation about the reason why high-profile investor Craig Heatley had cut his stake.

- NZPA