In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to deliver a small gain on Wednesday. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.2% to 7,628 points.
Four ASX shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here's why they are falling:
Australian Strategic Materials Ltd (ASX: ASM)
The Australian Strategic Materials share price is down 18% to $1.18. This morning, this integrated materials company announced that it has received firm commitments for an institutional placement to raise $15 million. Management advised that the placement saw strong interest from new and existing domestic and international institutional investors. So much so, that demand is significantly exceeding the shares available under the placement. The funds were raised at $1.16 per new share, which represents a 19.5% discount to its last close price.
Boral Ltd (ASX: BLD)
The Boral share price is down 4.5% to $5.72. This has been driven by the building materials company's shares going ex-dividend this morning for a 26 cents per share fully franked dividend. This dividend was declared earlier this month after the company finally accepted a takeover offer from Seven Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: SVW). Eligible shareholders can look forward to receiving this dividend payment next week on 26 April.
Dubber Corp Ltd (ASX: DUB)
The Dubber share price is down 72% to 6.2 cents. Investors have been hitting the sell button today after the call recording technology company's shares returned from a seven-week suspension. This suspension was caused by allegations that its CEO "likely misappropriated" $60 million that was put into a trust account for term deposits. A total of $26.6 million remains unaccounted for. Dubber was forced to raise funds by a heavily discounted capital raising to shore up its balance sheet. These funds were raised at a 77% discount of 5 cents per new share.
Macquarie Technology Group Ltd (ASX: MAQ)
The Macquarie Technology share price is down 2.5% to $75.19. This has been driven by the data centre operator completing an institutional placement today. Macquarie Technology has received firm commitments to raise $100 million by way of a fully underwritten two-tranche placement at A$72.50 per new share. This represents a modest 6.1% discount to its last close price. CEO and co-founder, David Tudehope, commented: "The placement and acquisition will strengthen our capital structure and enable us to invest and expand our data centre business. The cloud and AI megatrends are driving substantial growth in data centre capacity."
