Israeli telecommunications company Mobilicom is looking to raise AU$7.5 via an initial public offering (IPO), according to a prospectus lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission on March 1.
Mobilicom, which provides private wireless networks for mobile platforms and users without the need for infrastructure such as satellites or towers, will issue 37.5 million shares at 20 cents a share, giving it an estimated market capitalisation of AU$43.5 million.
The telco has raised more than AU$13 million from equity subscriptions and government grants to date and expects to list on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in early May.
The company said the IPO will fund research and development, sales and marketing, manufacturing, and other operational expenses as Mobilicom strengthens its presence in the government and enterprise sectors across Europe, Asia, and the US. The telco currently has more than 30 clients in these markets including ExxonMobil and Tyco.
Founded by entrepreneurs Oren Elkayam and Yossi Segal, Mobilicom’s core technology merges 4G with mobile mesh networking to create solutions for the maritime, transportation, disaster relief, security, and surveillance sectors.
It embeds wireless communication devices in things like public transport and offshore oil rigs, and the units can communicate with each other across a range of up to 50 kilometres, the company explained.
“We build broadband wireless connectivity between the users as an independent network and where each one of the users is a receiver and transmitter. It allows them to communicate in a range of ways including via high definition video, VoIP, and data,” Elkayam said.
The company is also currently developing solutions to improve communication capabilities of commercial drones used in sectors such as mining and utilities.
“Most of our solutions are already deployed and operating in the defence sector and we plan to make these solutions more commercially available as demand across a variety of industries continues to grow,” Elkayam said.
The company believes its technology is applicable to any sector requiring a standalone private network solution, either due to lack of infrastructure, cost or security considerations, or failure or latency issues associated with existing infrastructure.
“Limitations to the incumbent technology arise during times when circumstances impact upon the established infrastructure (such as natural disasters, technical failures at locations or during times of peak usage) or in marine environments or remote locations where conventional communications infrastructure is not available, unreliable or unsuitable,” Mobilicom states in its prospectus.
“These limitations give rise to a market for alternative private network solutions which operate independently of the incumbent infrastructure.”
Mobilicom joins a wave of tech firms from Israel seeking to raise capital in Australia via a listing on the ASX, including lithium ion battery developer UltraCharge, cybersecurity vendor Genome Technologies, and audio social media company HearMeOut.
