Johnston Press issued 320m shares to its current shareholders at a 61% discounted value of 53p in order to chip away at debt which currently stands at £700m.
More than 97% of the shares were taken up, earning Johnston Press £170m, which was topped up to £212m when the Johnston family sold an additional 10% share to Malaysian billionaire Ananda Krishnan.
However, the move also saw the family which now owns just 8%, lose its controlling interest in the business to the Malaysian investor. Following the share purchase, the company is fending off rumours that Krishnan's company, Usaha Tegas, is to mount a bid to take it private.
Tim Bowdler, chief executive at Johnston Press, has dismissed the rumours as having "absolutely no substance".
Johnston Press shareholders back plan to issue new shares
Shareholders at regional newspaper group Johnston Press are supporting a move to issue more shares to reduce debt levels at the company.
