AMS to sell new shares for 9.20 Swiss francs from March 16

VIENNA (Reuters) - Austrian sensor specialist AMS <AMS.S> <AMS.VI> said on Wednesday it intends to carry out its planned rights issue from March 16 to March 30 and offer the new shares at a price of 9.20 Swiss francs ($9.86).

The group, whose shares closed at 25.28 Swiss francs on Tuesday, plans to sell 189,869,454 new shares with full dividend rights from 2019. That will increase AMS's capitalisation by more than 40%.

The expected proceeds of 1.75 billion Swiss francs (1.65 billion euros) will be used to fund the takeover of German lighting group Osram <OSRn.DE>, with which it wants to create a European leader for in sensors and lights.

AMS shareholders will receive one subscription right per share and with four rights shareholders can buy nine new shares, it said.

Shareholders who do not participate can sell their rights on the SIX Swiss Exchange during the rights trading period from March 16 through March 26. Non-exercised rights may be sold to institutional investors or otherwise in the market, the Austrian group said.

The first trading day for the new shares is expected on or around 2 April 2020, AMS said.

AMS, which generates a large chunk of revenue with sensors for Apple's <AAPL.O> iPhones, so far does not expect the outbreak of the coronavirus to badly hit its business.

It has forecast first-quarter revenues of $480-520 million after $655 million in the previous quarter, mainly due to typical seasonal demand weakness.

(Reporting by Kirsti Knolle; editing by Thomas Seythal and Louise Heavens)