iTouch raises £4m through share placing

iTouch, the mobile services group that is 48% owned by Independent News & Media, has raised £4m sterling (€5.7m) through a discounted share placing.

The company placed the 14.5 million shares with institutional shareholders at a placing price of 27p (39c) per share.

The price is a discount of about 5.2% to the closing middle market price on the London Stock Exchange on Friday last.

Proceeds from the share placing are to be used to fund the expansion of the company's "direct channel" model into new territories.

iTouch, which operates Weatherdial and horoscope services in Ireland, said last month that revenue for the nine months to September rose 75% to £42.1m (€60m), boosted by the acquisition of Spain's leading content provider Movilisto in 2003.