Top of the tech stocks today is Buddy Technologies (ASX:BUD) which was up 18.75% off the back of news it’s closed its entitlement offer and restructured its debt facility.

The IoT smart building technology player received applications for 8,818,184 new shares, for an aggregate subscription amount of $220,455.57.

It’s part of Buddy’s plans to settle accounts owing with its primary manufacturer Eastfield Lighting (Hong Kong) Limited.

The company agreed to pay Eastfield US$2.75 million via proceeds from a $6.5 million placement, the entitlement offer and via the issue of 4.25 million convertible notes to its lender Partners for Growth (PFG) to raise US$4.25 million.

The debt refinancing, and funds raised by the issue of the convertible notes will decrease Buddy’s unaudited current liabilities at FY20 by A$9.4 million to A$22.4million.

BUD’s management team has been working hard to pay down debt from the acquisition of the LIFX smart lighting brand in March 2019.

The company’s consumer business trades under the LIFX brand – whose smart lighting solutions are sold in over 100 countries worldwide, directly and via distribution and sales partnerships with leading retailers and ecommerce platforms.

LFX smart lighting brand

While on the subject of LIFX, Buddy said its experiencing some component delays due to the global semiconductor shortage.

Only 655,000 of the 1 million pieces of critical components used in the manufactured of LIFX smart products have been delivered to manufacturers to date.

Around 458,000 pieces are expected to be delivered in September, with a further 180,000 pieces expected to be delivered in October – for a total of nearly 1.3 million pieces

Apparently, the delays didn’t negatively impact on production schedules in August, and the company says its successfully sourced around 100,000 pieces of an alternative component from a competitive supplier.

 

Elsewhere, shares in fintech investment platform Raiz Invest (ASX:RZI) fell by around 10% amid news of a pending board battle.

The company announced that a s249D notice has been filed by interests associated with CEO George Lucas which have a combined holding of more than 5% of Raiz shares.

The intention of the notice is to convene a meeting of shareholders to vote on a resolution that three board members — Nina Finlayson, Kevin A Moore and Kelly Humphreys — are “removed as directors of the company”, Raiz said.

Delta Drone International (ASX:DLT) was up 11.54% completed the acquisition of 60% of the shares in Perth-based provider of aerial and terrestrial surveying services, Arvista Pty Ltd.

The merger is a key milestone in DLT’s growth strategy and immediately provides the group with a blue-chip Australian client base and access to a team of highly skilled professionals with the expertise to expand their skillset beyond surveying to include the full range of drone-as-a-service operations Delta Drone International provides.

“The transaction will significantly expand our reach and penetration throughout the Australian market, specifically in the enterprise mining and agriculture sectors. We look forward to welcoming our new team members, servicing our new customers, and becoming the leading drones-as-a-service provider in Australia,” Delta Drone CEO Christopher Clark said.

Arvista will commence trading as a DLT subsidiary on 1 September 2021.


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