LONDON (ShareCast) - Computer games developer SCi tumbled Friday on news it is raising £60.1m from a fully underwritten placing and open offer at a big discount to last night’s closing price.

Institutional and other investors will be able to buy 94.4m shares in the Tomb Raider group at 35p each via a placing, while an open offer has made 77.2m shares available to shareholders at the same price.

Time Warner Entertainment, which has agreed a strategic distribution deal with SCi for the US, Canada and Mexico, will subscribe for up to 42.9m shares worth £15m. It already owns a 10.2% stake.

An investment vehicle owned by property tycoon Robert Tchenguiz, which currently owns 15.4% of SCi, will also subscribe for £15m of shares.

SCi said that after the fundraising it will have substantial cash balances in addition to its new committed £25m debt facility.

The new money means it can develop and launch new editions of its key titles and repay its overdraft, it said.

In February, the firm flagged plans to axe 25% of its staff and raise up to £55m to stave off collapse as big write-offs meant an interim loss of £81.9m, up from £17.2m the year before.

It added today that current trading is in line with expectations and it is on track to deliver cost savings of £14m from its rationalisation programme at a cost of £7m.

“The new financing puts us in a clear position to deliver on the strategic business plan which we announced in February with focus on cornerstone studios and core franchises, delivering high-quality, world class games,” said chief executive Phil Rogers.

Earlier this week, SCi admitted it had rejected an indicative takeover proposal at a significant premium to the current share price the proposal does not represent sufficient value.

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