Shares in Airtasker Ltd (ASX: ART) fell more than 7% on Monday after the company announced a capital raise and a strategic agreement to help it expand faster in the US market.
The company, which operates a platform where people can post and accept jobs such as putting together furniture or running errands, said it had received binding commitments for a $10 million capital raise to bolster its expansion in the US and the UK.
Strong backing from partners
The placement of new shares received strong support from the company's largest shareholder, Exto Partners, Airtasker said, as well as the US company iHeartMedia, with which it had expanded an existing agreement in the US.
Airtasker said the funds would go towards growing the business.
The $10.0 million raised will be used to fund a disciplined program of targeted marketing investments in the US and UK, to provide Airtasker with additional balance sheet flexibility to invest alongside media partners in Airtasker's US and UK subsidiaries and/or to settle media partnership agreements.
iHeartmedia's investment in the placement builds on a US$5 million partnership struck in August 2024, "through which iHeartMedia provides Airtasker USA with access to significant media and advertising resources to accelerate Airtasker USA's expansion'', the company said.
Airtasker USA has also entered into an agreement today to expand the strategic partnership with iHeartMedia, providing Airtasker with an additional US$5.0 million in media and advertising resources to accelerate growth in the US.
The strategic partnership will provide Airtasker USA with US$5 million in media and advertising inventory in exchange for a convertible note over Airtasker shares.
Platform a great innovation
iHeartMedia Executive Vice President of Ventures, David Ellis, said the Airtasker platform was a game-changer.
Airtasker's strength in Australia shows how a fundamentally better marketplace can reshape consumer behaviour. As the company accelerates in the US, we see a clear opportunity to redefine expectations and win the category through innovation and a strong go-to-market plan.
Airtasker Chief Executive Officer Tim Fung said the company was already seeing the benefits of collaborating with iHeartMedia since striking its original deal in August last year.
Since launching our strategic partnership last year, we've already seen the power of the iHeartMedia platform to accelerate our growth, helping us to scale from close to a standing start to hitting a $7.5 million gross marketplace volume annualised run rate in June this year. With an audience of over 276 million users every month, being the no. 1 podcast publisher in the world and creating epic events like the iHeartRadio Music Festival and Awards – this strategic partnership will give us the resources we need to take Airtasker's mission to the biggest market in the world.
Airtasker shares fell 7.5% on Monday morning to be changing hands for 31 cents, after the company announced the capital raise, which was priced at 30 cents. Airtasker was valued at $152.4 million at the close of trade on Friday.
