Heska begins $125M private fundraiser to cover latest acquisition

LOVELAND — Heska Corp. (Nasdaq: HSKA) is issuing $125 million in equity to cover the cost of its acquisition of a European veterinary diagnostics company and its larger efforts to globalize.

The Loveland company said it has secured four investment groups in a deal dated Jan. 12 to provide the capital in exchange for preferred stock that can convert to common stock with voting powers at a later date, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Heska can convert those 1,501,751 shares with the approval of shareholders at its next annual meeting. If approved, that would increase the company’s shares outstanding by 19 percent and potentially dilute the value of existing shareholders’ holdings. The new investors would get a cash dividend on their stocks between 5.75 percent to 7.25 percent if current shareholders vote against the stock conversion.

Heska has been on an acquisition spree as of late as it tries to expand its global sales reach. It purchased a pair of Spanish veterinary diagnostics companies last week for an undisclosed fee. Earlier this week, it announced the acquisition of the European firm scil animal care company GmbH, a subsidiary of competitor Covetrus Inc. (Nasdaq: CVET).

Heska stock rose 8.57 percent Thursday to stand at $106.39 per share at the close of trading.

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