HaloSource raises £31.5m in AIM flotation

Water treatment technology developer HaloSource has raised £31.5m gross at 135p a share ahead of its AIM flotation on 18 October. The company is valued at £100m at the placing price. Seattle-based HaloSource will use the cash from a placing to finance expansion plans, particularly in China and India.HaloSource develops low-cost, anti-microbial technology for cleaning and disinfecting water. HaloSource offers four main products. HaloPure kills bacteria and viruses in drinking water and it appears that much of the cash raised in the flotation will go on building manufacturing plants for this part of the business. HaloShield uses chlorine to kill odour-causing bacteria on cloths and towels, SeaKlear helps to keep pools clean and StormKlear controls sediment from storm water and waste water. HaloSource generated revenues of $11.8m in 2009 and expects them to increase by between 40% and 50% in 2010. Existing shareholders sold £18.9m worth of shares. AIM-quoted Origo Partners and St Peter Port Capital both owned stakes in HaloSource, as did Unilever. The sellers have not been mentioned. The investor relations section of the HaloSource website (www.halosource.com) is not yet up and running. Mining and cleantech investment company Origo invested $10m in the company's preferred stock in 2008 for a 16.5% equity interest. St Peter Port Capital, which is chaired by Bob Morton, acquired its stake in HaloSource when it unwound a deal with FibreGen. At that time, FibreGen owned 1.2% of HaloSource but this will have been diluted by the 2008 fundraising. Unilever