What happened
Shares of Beam Global (BEEM -4.09%) plummeted today, down by 11% as of 3:25 p.m. EST, after the company priced a secondary offering. The deal priced at $30 per share, representing a significant discount compared to yesterday's closing price of $35.19.
So what
Beam, which offers electric vehicle (EV) charging services powered by solar energy, has agreed to sell 250,000 shares at $30 per share, raising gross proceeds of $7.5 million. It's not uncommon for companies to price secondary offerings at a discount to the market in order to incentivize investors to purchase the newly issued shares, which helps the issuer raise fresh capital.
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Additionally, Beam shares have been rallying significantly in recent days, and conducting an offering now will allow the company to take advantage of the soaring stock price to strengthen its balance sheet while mitigating the dilutive impact to existing shareholders. The company had just over 7 million shares outstanding as of Nov. 9, so 250,000 new shares represents just 3.6% dilution.
Now what
Beam finished the third quarter with $12.3 million in cash on the balance sheet, up from $3.8 million at the end of 2019. That increase was attributed to a separate secondary offering conducted earlier in 2020. The company was previously known as Envision Solar before changing its name in September.
The offering was made as part of a shelf registration statement from May. The company plans to use proceeds from the offering for working capital and general corporate purposes, according to the filing.
