Access Investing, an Australian investment company, will consider giving an equity stake and board seat to strategic investors as part of its current up to AUD 10m (USD 7.4m) capital raise from retail investors looking to take advantage of pre-IPO opportunities, said founder and MD Brett Tucker.
The unlisted public Melbourne-based company is seeking capital from retail investors to invest on their behalf into pre-IPO opportunities, which are usually restricted to professional investors, but will also consider taking on a strategic equity investor that can provide access to retail client bases or pre-IPO deal flow, Tucker explained.
These could include broker networks, venture capital firms, or family offices and other sophisticated investor groups, he elaborated.
Access Investing’s corporate advisor, Queensland-based BlueMount Capital, is assisting with the raise, but it welcomes approaches from other advisors that can introduce potential equity or retail investors, Tucker said.
Australian and New Zealand Investors
The company, which plans to close the raise by the end of this month (August), is targeting investors in Australia, but also welcomes approaches from investors in New Zealand that are keen to tap Australian pre-IPO opportunities, he said.
Incorporated in June this year, Access Investing is owned by private individuals with strong industry networks and expertise, including Tucker, who was formerly a director with Perth-based corporate advisory firm Ventnor Capital, and Melbourne-based IR firm Bourse Communications founder Rod North, the CEO said.
Access Investing's Differentiator to Managed Funds
While it is similar to traditional managed funds in that it pools funds to invest, its differentiator is that it provides invested shares to holders to make trading decisions on a company-by-company basis, rather than continuing to manage them as a portfolio, Tucker said. It also gives non-professional investors pre-IPO access at discounted prices, relative to subsequent IPO prices, he added.
Access Investing achieves this by holding the share portfolios until each invested company prepares to list on the ASX, and then distributing the pre-IPO shares pro-rata to all investors prior to ASX trading, Tucker said. Opportunities will all be pre-vetted to ensure there is significant upside potential on listing and there is a near-term listing timeframe of 12-24 months, he added.
Filling a Gap for Retail Investors
Access Investing has not seen any competitors globally or locally and sees itself as filling a gap for retail investors between crowdfunding and public listings, Tucker said. Australian platforms like Sydney-based crowdfunder Equitise also give access to pre-IPO opportunities, but these are for sophisticated rather than retail investors, and tend to be for riskier start-up companies, he added.
by Louise Weihart in Sydney
Published by Acuris Mergermarket, an ION Group company
