LiveTiles (ASX:LVT) shares placed in trading halt

Shares in LiveTiles Ltd (ASX: LVT) are in a trading halt this morning following an announcement from the company. Let's …

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Published February 3, 2021 11:53 am AEDT

Shares in LiveTiles Ltd (ASX: LVT) are in a trading halt this morning following an announcement from the company. Let's take a look at the announcement and what that means for the LiveTiles share price.

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What did LiveTiles announce?

Earlier today LiveTiles released an announcement informing investors that securities in the company have been placed in a trading halt.

According to the company's announcement, LiveTiles requested an immediate trading halt. This request was in response to an article published in The Australian Financial Review overnight.

LiveTiles informed investors that shares in the company will remain in a trading halt until the commencement of trading on the 5^th of February 2021 or following the release of another announcement from the company.

What prompted LiveTiles to enter a trading halt?

Securities in LiveTiles were placed in a trading halt in response to an article published in The Australian Financial Review.

The article, which was published overnight, speculated a potential buyout of LiveTiles by offshore private equity funds. According to the article, LiveTiles has engaged Credit Suisse's investment bankers as defence advisers, after receiving approaches from specialist software buyout funds.

Despite the interest, the article acknowledged that no formal process was underway, with LiveTiles reportedly exploring options.

According to the article, LiveTiles has received attention from private equity funds given the company's struggling share price. In the past 12 months, the LiveTiles share price has fallen more than 16% to around 20 cents. Meanwhile, the ASX all-tech Index is up 40% for the period.

How has the LiveTiles share price performed?

LiveTiles is a global software company that allows users to create intelligent workplace experiences. The company's cloud-based software management systems allow clients to use popular online software tools like Microsoft 365, Google Drive, communications through Slack and use Expensify for financial reporting.

Late last month LiveTiles released a positive update for the second quarter. The release was highlighted by a 10.2% increase in annualised recurring revenue (ARR) of $58.1 million. The software company generated $64.7 million in ARR at December 31 from more than 1100 customers and reported $19.2 million cash on hand.

At the time of writing, shares in LiveTiles are still in a trading halt after closing yesterday's trading session at 20.5 cents per share.

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