Our 2016 capital raising numbers are in and we’re pleased to report a big increase in activity over 2015. In total, we helped our clients complete 83 capital raising transactions, up from 43 in 2015.

The total amount of capital being raised in these 83 transactions was just over $220m.  This compares to $180m in 2015.

NZ companies accounted for $150m of this capital raising, with Southeast Asian companies making up the balance of $70m.

Our average raise for Kiwi companies in 2016 was $2,450,000, with a median raise size of $950,000, compared with $1,950,000 and $500,000 in 2015.

For Southeast Asian companies the average raise was $3,950,000 with a median of $2,050,000 compared with $9,200,000 and $2,521,727 in 2015.

Indications are that 2017 will be at least as busy for our capital raising lawyers.  It’s hard to pick trends this early in the year, but we are expecting an increase in the number of deals involving offshore VC’s, with larger amounts of capital being raised.  On the seed investment front, we are picking a similar level of activity and deal size to 2015.  As was the case in 2016, we think that young Kiwi tech companies looking to raise capital via an IPO will be listing on the ASX rather than the NZX, since our market lacks the appetite for these riskier investment propositions.