(Bloomberg) -- MicroStrategy Inc. laid out plans to sell a record $21 billion in new shares to add to its stockpile of Bitcoin, opening the door to a program that would far surpass the milestone Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc. set about four years ago.
The Bitcoin hedge-fund proxy’s hiring of banks to sell stock through a so-called at-the-market offering continues a string of deals for companies with diehard retail investor fanbases, after GameStop Corp. and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. flooded the market with new shares.
The size of the equity plan is what stands out for a company that has already netted over $3.5 billion through different fundraising efforts this year, as co-founder Michael Saylor lures followers. The figure announced on Wednesday tops the world’s four largest deals so far totaling about $19 billion combined, data compiled by Bloombebrg show.
Tesla raised $10 billion through two separate deals over a little more than three months in 2020 while healthcare REIT Welltower Inc. brought in more than $11 billion through programs over a stretch of years, Bloomberg data show. Companies will typically file for facilities and tap them as desired before either filing for a new plan after a current facility expires or when they max it out.
While MicroStrategy’s filing means it can sell millions of shares without needing to file additional paperwork, it’s no guarantee that the firm will do so, or if it does, that it would raise the sum all at once. Numerous companies have filed for at-the-market facilities and never move to capitalize on them, or sell just a sliver of the available stock.
For MicroStrategy, the sales of shares and convertible debt to buy Bitcoin is a linchpin of its business. It has sold $4.6 billion of new stock over a string of smaller at-the-market programs in recent years and pooled some $4.4 billion from convertible debt sales this year alone, according to a regulatory filing.
Magical Number
The latest $21 billion equity facility was announced alongside a plan to sell fixed-income securities that could bring in the same amount, with the net proceeds of $42 billion. The reason for that number is in part related to the science fiction series The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy where a supercomputer calculates the answer to the question of life, the universe and everything as the number 42, according to MicroStrategy Chief Executive Officer Phong Le.
“We believe it’s a unique number with some special characteristics. It’s the sum of 21 plus 21,” Le said on an earnings call Wednesday. “We all know that 21 is a magic — a magical number in the world of Bitcoin. There can only ever be a maximum of 21 million Bitcoin in circulation.”
MicroStrategy shares have held on to massive gains over the past year despite taking a 2.2% dip on Thursday. The stock is up roughly 475% in the past year, more than quadrupling Bitcoin’s 105% ascent over that time.
--With assistance from Tom Contiliano.
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