Wal-Mart contract boosts Medisys ahead of fund raising

Medisys, the medical devices company in the throes of a £6m fund raising, said yesterday that its novel diabetes testing kit was to be sold in Wal-Mart's 3,400 American stores.

Medisys, the medical devices company in the throes of a £6m fund raising, said yesterday that its novel diabetes testing kit was to be sold in Wal-Mart's 3,400 American stores.

The roll-out, after a successful pilot in a selection of stores, represents a vote of confidence in the product. Medisys shares jumped more than 10 per cent on the news.

David Conn, the chief executive, said Wal-Mart's decision had come four weeks earlier than hoped. Medisys had shipped enough kits to stock the majority of stores by the end of this month, he added.

Analysts said the success should boost Medisys's plans to raise up to £5.9m from a placing and open offer at 6.75p per share, compared with a share price last night of 8.125p.

Seb Jantet at Investec Securities said: "The fundraising was only partly underwritten, raising a guaranteed minimum of £3.2m, but there is now a good chance that Medisys will raise the maximum £5.9m, further improving the balance sheet."

The new product, branded NewTek, is an all-in-one disposable blood-glucose monitoring kit, which Medisys says is superior to others because it requires a smaller blood sample and does not require users to handle a fiddly test strip.