Right now, the Thorney Technologies share price is 21 cents. It has fallen 51% year to date. That leaves the LIC with an $89 million market capitalisation.

For comparison, the benchmark All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) has dropped 8% since the start of 2022.

So, which Aussie billionaire seemingly thinks now is a good time to buy into the ASX tech-focused share? Let's take a look.

This insider just bought a million shares in their tech-focused LIC

Famous investor Peter Lynch is widely quoted as having said:

Insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise.

Thus, it might be a good sign that billionaire investor and Thorney Technologies chair Alex Waislitz snapped up another million shares in the LIC yesterday.

Waislitz, who has previously been dubbed 'Australia's Warren Buffett' by some, now boasts a 23% stake in the ASX-listed tech-focused investment company.

He paid 20.92 cents per share for his latest buy, forking out a total of $209,200.

Waislitz sits at number 91 on the Australian Financial Review's 2022 Rich List, commanding a $1.5 billion fortune.

He is also the person behind Thorney Investment Group, which is in turn the manager of the Thorney Technologies LIC. The group is Waislitz's private investment vehicle.

Among Thorney Technologies' major investments are Nitro Software Ltd (ASX: NTO), Imugene Limited (ASX: IMU), and Calix Ltd (ASX: CXL).

And yesterday wasn't the first time the billionaire bought into the ASX tech-focused share in December. He forked out $38,412 on 16 December to buy 192,062 shares in Thorney Technologies for 20 cents apiece.

The post Guess which ASX tech billionaire just bought a million of their company's shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

He founded Thorney Group after overseeing the investments of cardboard magnate Richard Pratt and Australia's first billionaire Robert Holmes a Court.

These days he's in the rich list himself, ranked the 73rd wealthiest person in the nation on the current The Australian rankings.

As well as a private fund, Waislitz runs 2 ASX-listed investment funds — Thorney Technologies Ltd (ASX: TEK) and Thorney Opportunities Ltd (ASX: TOP).

He recently named 3 ASX shares those funds hold that he currently has the most hope for:

Signing up massive clients and cash in the bank

Perth business Yojee Ltd (ASX: YOJ) makes software that manages logistics and supply-chain management.

The share price hasn't done a great deal this year, dropping from 20 to 18 cents as of Thursday's market close.

But Waislitz likes how it looks ready for explosive growth.

"This is a company that's progressively signed up 4 of the largest 10 logistics companies in the world," he told a Reach Markets webinar.

"It's got cash in the bank to roll out that growth with those companies and it's time is coming."

For the 2021 financial year, Yojee reported 63% revenue growth — but that failed to sustainably push the stock price up.

The Thorney team is willing to be patient though.

"We're quite excited about them," said Waitslitz.

"It's a company to watch… At the moment the revenues are relatively small, but we're hopeful that over the next 1 to 3 years you might see them really power ahead."

2 engineering ASX shares that'll cash in on infrastructure boom

The other 2 ASX shares, which are both engineering-related, are held by the Thorney Opportunities fund.

Southern Cross Electrical Engineer Ltd (ASX: SXE) provides services to clients like data centres, mining sites, and utilities.

For a business that provides a 6% dividend yield, the share price is very low.

"We think it's really cheap because it's trading at just over 3 times EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation] to the enterprise value," said Waislitz.

"Sitting on cash, it's really well-positioned to win a lot of work into that [resources and infrastructure] thematic."

He also thought management was "too conservative" in its performance forecasts.

Southern Cross shares closed Thursday at 66 cents, after starting the year at 57 cents.

Construction engineering company Decmil Group Limited (ASX: DCG) has just been a nightmare for investors recently.

Its stock price has dropped about 90% over the past 2 years.

But after dealing with those "bad contracts", Waislitz is convinced the ASX share has hit the bottom now.

"They had to recapitalise their balance sheet to deal with their debt and allow them some growth capability, which they've done," he said.

"They've had a change of leadership at the CEO level, which has happened, and some other executives."

The Thorney team thinks Decmil is set to rake in more than $500 million of revenue for the current financial year, compared to $298.1 million for the 2021 financial year.

"In a sense, a new beginning for this company that's been around for a while."

The post 3 ASX shares Australia's 73rd richest person loves appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Thorney's shareholders were hit hard by the pandemic panic selling that hit the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) earlier this year. Thorney's share price dropped more than 50% before bottoming out on 23 March.

Since the March lows, shares are up 157% for a year-to-date gain of 28%. By comparison the All Ords is down 4% so far in 2020.

What does Thorney Technologies do?

After re-listing on 18 January 2017, Thorney Technologies became an investment company focused on technology related investments., often at the pre-IPO level. The company is managed by Thorney Investment Group, a private business, under a long-term investment management agreement.

What moved the Thorney Technologies share price today?

This morning Thorney Technologies announced it had received commitments from institutional, sophisticated and professional investors to raise $27 million via a fully-committed two-tranche placement of ordinary shares at 35 cents per share.

Thorney welcomed Woodson Capital Management LP as a substantial shareholder.

The company also announced its proposal of a non-underwritten $10 million non-renounceable entitlement offer to eligible shareholders, also at 35 cents per share.

Bell Potter Securities Limited is acting as Lead Manager for both offers.

Thorney Technologies Chair Alex Waislitz said:

We are delighted with the support shown by new and existing investors, with bids received well in excess of amounts raised under the Placement. We are pleased to welcome Woodson Capital Management as a substantial shareholder in TEK.

The bulk of the capital raising will be used to invest in technology related companies in Australia and internationally. The company stated it will continue to focus on pre-IPO (initial public offering) opportunities, stating it, "continues to be inundated with exciting and potentially valuable pre-IPO investment opportunities, and the Board intends to continue to be at the forefront of access to these investment opportunities."

The committed placement will be completed in two tranches. The first, approximately $13 million worth, is expected to settle this Thursday 12 November.

The second placement of some $14 million of new shares will be issued subject to Thorney Technologies' shareholders' approval.

The post The Thorney Technologies (ASX:TEK) share price is up 7% today. Here's why appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.