Global semiconductor development company BluGlass (ASX:BLG) has secured $10.2 million through a placement to institutional and sophisticated investors.

The company says the placement was strongly supported by international and Australian institutional and sophisticated investors and resulted in the raising of $10.2 million through the distribution of under 170 million new fully paid ordinary shares in the company at an issue price of $0.06 per share.

BluGlass notes the issue price represents a 20% discount to the last closing share price on Wednesday 8 March 2023, and a 21.7% discount to the 15-day volume weighted average market price (VWAP) of the company’s shares.

“This funding will accelerate our commercialisation progress with advanced in-house capabilities enabling us to scale and speed our product delivery to meet significant unmet needs”

Funds are expected to be used for additional fab equipment to scale and speed product delivery, as well as expand its product offering to increase market competitiveness.

Speaking on the placement, BluGlass Chairperson James Walker said: “The support of institutional and sophisticated investors provides confidence in our technical and commercial roadmaps, and we are pleased to welcome new and returning global funds to the register. The BluGlass team remains focused on growing market traction, generating recurring revenues, and delivering value for our customers and shareholders.”

Also speaking on the placement, company Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jim Haden said: “This funding will accelerate our commercialisation progress with advanced in-house capabilities enabling us to scale and speed our product delivery to meet significant unmet needs. The market’s response to our initial products has been very encouraging, and we are looking to capitalise on this momentum to rapidly build our customer base and laser diode bookings.

We’re also investing in our GaN laser offering to leverage our competitive advantages, address new markets and applications, and take market share. At the same, we’re continuously improving the power and efficiency of our products toward world-class standards which will support growth in orders and revenue.”

The company also notes it has moved forward with a non-renounceable entitlement offer of up to $2.7 million in order to enable existing shareholders to participate on the same terms.

Under the offer, eligible shareholders can apply for 1 new share for every 30 fully paid ordinary shares in the company held at 7pm Thursday 16 March at an issue price of $0.06.

In addition, the offer is non-renounceable, meaning eligible shareholders who do not wish to subscribe for some, or all, of their entitlement may not sell or transfer their rights.

BlueGlass is an ASX-listed company which represents a leading supplier of GaN laser diode products to the global phonetics industry. The ocmpany is focused on the industrial, defence, bio-medical, and scientific markets.

The company currently has operations in Sydney, Nashua, and Silicon Valley which offer cutting-edge, custom laser diode development and manufacturing, from small-batch custom lasers to medium and high-volume off-the-shelf products.