Cadiz Announces Offering of 5 Million Shares to Raise $21 Million for Water Projects
Key Facts
Cadiz announced on October 29 an agreement for a registered direct offering of 5 million common shares at $4.20 per share, for gross proceeds of $21.0 million before expenses. The company expects to receive about $20.0 million after placement agent fees and transaction expenses. It said the financing will support general corporate purposes, including administrative expenses, working capital, and costs to develop and build the Mojave Water Bank. The announcement comes as the company advances its California water project, including the Northern Pipeline. The offering is expected to close on October 30 or around that date, subject to customary closing conditions.
Cadiz said a lead institutional investor led the offering and has experience in water, royalties, hard assets and inflation hedging, while new and existing investors also participated. The company did not specify any investor’s share of the offered stock in the announcement. The transaction involves the issuance of new common shares, while the company did not state the number of shares outstanding before the offering or the resulting percentage change. Roth Capital Partners served as the exclusive placement agent. These terms outline the expected financing size and its cost, with the net amount available remaining below the gross proceeds because of fees and expenses.
The company allocated the expected proceeds to a range of needs, including administrative expenses, working capital, and expenses related to developing and building the Mojave Water Bank. It added that spending may include equipment and materials for the Northern or Southern Pipeline. The Water Bank project is intended to serve communities at the heart of the water crisis in the southwestern United States, according to the company. Tying part of the financing to development and construction connects the company’s operating needs with its long-term water project. The announcement did not detail the amount of funding allocated to each use.
The offering comes as Cadiz reported an operating loss of $8.8 million in the second quarter of 2026, compared with a loss of $5.8 million in the same period of 2025. Net loss was $11.4 million, versus $7.7 million a year earlier. The company attributed the higher operating loss mainly to lower gross profit at its ATEC unit because of declining filter sales, as well as higher legal and consulting fees related to development of the Mojave Water Bank. It also said the increase in cash used in operating activities during the first half of 2026 was tied to higher operating cash losses, particularly lower filter sales and the resulting impact on working capital. The results put the new financing in the context of operating needs and projects coinciding with higher year-over-year losses.
The company previously completed a registered direct offering in March 2025, selling 5,715,000 shares at $3.50 per share. Gross proceeds from that offering totaled about $20.0 million, with net proceeds of about $18.3 million. The prior transaction provides a comparison for the financing size: the current offering’s gross proceeds are close to the previous total, while pricing terms and the number of shares differ. The available information does not compare the current offering price with the market price on the announcement date. It also does not specify how much cash remains from the previous offering or how it was used.
The company’s chief financial officer said the financing “strengthens our balance sheet as we work to select an equity partner for the project and make a final investment decision on the Northern Pipeline.” Cadiz says the cost to build the Northern Pipeline has been set at a guaranteed maximum of about $403.3 million, based on contracts that include pipeline replacement and pumping stations. In February 2026, the company received an invitation from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to apply for up to $194 million in financing through the Water Infrastructure Finance program, with the funding reserved while the assessment is completed. This places the offering proceeds within a broader funding plan for the pipeline project, without the new announcement specifying how much of its total cost the offering will cover. The market is awaiting the expected October 30 closing as the company works to select a project partner and make a final investment decision.