In July, Italy-based IBuying company Casavo issued up to €30 million ($32.2 million U.S.) in equity instruments convertible into new shares to existing shareholders in proportion to their respective holdings, Milano Finanza reports.
It noted that more than half of these instruments had been signed by Casavo’s shareholders to date. If some shareholders decline to increase their investment in the company, these instruments could be sold to new investors — with Softbank mentioned as a possibility in the local media.
In February this year, the company founded by Giorgio Tinacci (LinkedIn profile) announced a 30% reduction in its headcount from a total of around 500 in order to accelerate its progress towards breakeven as it began to feel the heat from rising interest rates and a housing market slowdown. It also withdrew from Portugal, leaving the company with a presence in France and Spain, in addition to its domestic market.
In a letter to employees published as a blog post on the company’s website, CEO Tinacci wrote: “Equity capital markets for high-growth technology companies are in a reset: Valuations have fallen dramatically and investors are extremely cautious when it comes to deploying capital into this asset class.”
“As a result, it would be irresponsible to rely on additional external financing in the short term. This implies the need to achieve financial self-sufficiency as soon as possible, and fortunately, we are in a solid position thanks to our recent Series D capital round [in which it raised €100 million in equity and €300 million in debt].”
In Italy, there has been some media speculation that this capital raising indicates that Casavo is experiencing financial difficulties, as the cost-cutting announced earlier this year does not appear to have been sufficient to propel the company to profitability without additional investment — something that Tinacci intimated Casavo would be able to do in his letter to employees.