KUALA LUMPUR (June 25): XL Holdings Bhd (KL:XL), whose share fell sharply on Wednesday (June 24), has proposed to undertake a private placement of 10% of its shares to raise funds of up to RM42.95 million to be used mainly for expansion of its new retailing and wholesaling grocery business.
The placement involves the issuance of up to 66.08 million new shares with the exact issue price to be determined later. The shares will be placed with third-party investors who have yet to be identified, according to XL's bourse filing on Thursday.
Assuming an issue price at 65 sen per share, it represents a discount of 9% to the five-day volume weighted average market price of 71.43 sen on June 12.
XL shares plunged as much as 25%, or 22.5 sen, to 66 sen on Wednesday, wiping out gains recorded over a two-month period. The counter closed the day 15% lower at 75 sen. A company spokesperson told The Edge it was not aware of any reason for the share price movement.
On Thursday, XL shares closed down half a sen or 0.67% at 74.5 sen, giving the company a market capitalisation of RM371.69 million.
The group said RM30.07 million of the private placement proceeds have been earmarked for the retailing and wholesaling grocery business to finance the capital requirements to refurbish the Giant Mini Outlets and also further expand into other new outlets within the Klang Valley.
XL's wholly-owned unit XL Retail Sdn Bhd had on May 31 completed the acquisition of the 34 mini outlets located across the Klang Valley from Jutaria Gemilang Sdn Bhd for RM15 million.
“As part of the group's strategy to enhance the market presence of the Giant Mini Outlets, the group targets a total of 20 new Giant Mini Outlets which are envisaged to be established within the Klang Valley region from the fourth quarter of 2026 to the fourth quarter of 2027,” said the group adding that specific locations are still under evaluation.
Meanwhile, another RM12.76 million will be used for working capital requirement, and a further RM120,000 for estimated expenses for the private placement exercise, which is expected to be completed by the third quarter of this year.
As at Jan 31, 2026, XL's cash and bank balances stood at RM5.67 million compared to RM27.99 million as at April 30, 2025. Bank borrowings increased to RM2.69 million from RM278,000.
The company has not undertaken any other fund-raising exercises in the past 12 months.
XL is primarily involved in the commercial breeding of Asian arowana, stingrays and other ornamental fish, as well as the trading of aquarium tanks, accessories, feed and medication. The company also has businesses involving food products, edible bird’s nest, seaweed cultivation, hatchery operations and pineapple cultivation.