(Alliance News) -Â NFT Investments PLC began trading on the AQSE Growth Market on Friday after a "substantially oversubscribed" placing.
NFT Investments said it is the first pure-play investment company focused exclusively on investing in non-fungible tokens to launch on a stock market in a major jurisdiction worldwide.
NFTs are digital objects - such as drawings, photos or videos - with a certificate of authenticity created by blockchain technology. They have exploded in popularity recently, with Christie's selling a digital artwork for USD69.3 million.
NFT Investments has been admitted to the Access segment of the AQSE after raising GBP35 million, more than three times what was initially planned. The placing set a new record amount to be raised on the AQSE and was increased in response to "unprecedented" investor demand.
One investor was AIM-listed Blue Star Capital PLC, which ploughed GBP200,000 into the IPO. Blue Star had made a previous investment in an earlier funding round, meaning it now holds 9.0 million shares, or around a 0.9% stake.
On admission, NFT Investments will have 1.00 billion shares in issue, giving it a market capitalisation of GBP50 million.
The stock was trading at 4.8 pence Friday morning, down 4.0% from its 5p IPO price.
Tennyson Securities, Novum Securities and First Sentinel acted as joint brokers to the company.
"NFT Investments' admission to the AQSE Growth Market marks a significant milestone for the non-fungible sector. Our record-breaking raise on AQSE provides a strong foundation on which the Company can execute its long-term growth strategy and capitalise on its first-mover advantage. We are delighted with the strong support we have received from a wide range of investors and our oversubscribed placing is a real endorsement of our investment plans in a promising market set for growth," said Executive Chair Jonathan Bixby.
NFT Investments was started by Bixby and Mike Edwards, the founders of Argo Blockchain PLC.
By Lucy Heming;Â lucyheming@alliancenews.com
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Blue Star (BLU)
Argo Blockchai. (ARB)