Billabong shares drops to record low

Published:  25 Jun at 6 PM

Billabong shares have dropped nearly half in price as trading continued this morning. This arrives after the group announced last Thursday that it would attempt elicit $225 million from investors.

The surfwear retailer's share dropped to an all-time low of 94 cents as the trading stop was lifted today right before 11am. Billabong shares by 12.30pm were at 94.5 cents, or 51 cents lower.

This is a drop of over 48% from Wednesday's finishing price of $1.83. It is also a 46% drop on its earlier lowest share price of $1.77 in December.
The price is under the capital raising offer price ($1.02), which has caused concern over how well this offer can be welcome as it opens up to retail investors today, including small-scale shareholders.

The market shares have experienced a trading halt ever since the retailer announced that it would generate $225 million to pay down its debts.
The firm said today that, during the trading halt, it had already raised $155 million of the necessary funds from institutional investors, as eligible shareholders constitute over 79% of the new available shares.

The institutional support for the financial offer was pleasing, said Billabong CEO Launa Inman.