Sivers Semiconductors Wipes Out $12M Debt via Share Swap as Oversubscribed Raise Fuels AI and Defense Expansion

Sivers Semiconductors has executed a rapid-fire financial restructuring, erasing a $12 million loan from its balance sheet while simultaneously pocketing 700 million Swedish kronor from institutional investors. The back-to-back capital moves sent the stock 18.34% higher on Friday to €5.20, though that spike masks a monthlong sell-off that has left the shares nearly 38% lower.

The Swedish photonics and radio-frequency chip specialist converted the full $12 million convertible note held by lender Bootstrap Europe into equity. Under the terms agreed in February, each share was priced at 4.77 Swedish kronor, leading to the issuance of 22,847,044 new common shares. Bootstrap’s claim was extinguished via offset — no cash changed hands, just paper for paper.

That debt conversion landed just days after a separate directed share issue. On the back of authorization from the June 15 annual general meeting, the board placed 12,280,701 new common shares at 57 kronor each, raising roughly 700 million kronor. The placement was multiple times oversubscribed, drawing both existing and new institutional investors from Sweden and abroad. The offer price represented a 9.7% discount to the June 30 closing price on Nasdaq Stockholm.

The two transactions together have heavily diluted the shareholder base. As of June 30, Sivers had 319,953,572 common shares outstanding — a figure now substantially higher. Despite the dilution, management sent a signal of stability: CEO Vickram Vathulya, CFO Heine Thorsgaard, and board members Bami Bastani, Karin Raj, and Todd Thomson are locked up through July 16 under agreements signed in April. No additional lock-ups were required for the latest issuance.

Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Sivers Semiconductors?

On the governance front, Bami Bastani retains his chairman seat, while Joakim Nideborn steps into the vice-chair role.

Operationally, the picture remains mixed. First-quarter revenue slumped 22% year-on-year to around 62 million kronor. Yet the project pipeline swelled to $799 million, and a key LiDAR customer is slated to begin series production in the fourth quarter — a program worth as much as $138 million. Vathulya frames the capital moves not as a distress exercise but as proof of sustained investor appetite for the company’s exposure to artificial intelligence, satellite communications, and defense.

Friday’s bounce did little to repair the broader chart damage. The stock still trades roughly 49% below its 52-week high of €10.23 reached on June 3. Its 50-day moving average sits at €6.16 — a level 15.6% above the current price. With annualized 30-day volatility topping 213%, few European-listed equities swing as violently.

All eyes now turn to the second-quarter report due August 6. The debt has been cleared and a cash cushion secured, but the cost was heavy dilution. The coming numbers will show whether the strengthened balance sheet and expanding production capacity for AI and defence applications can finally translate into top-line growth.