St. John’s-based Kraken Robotics has announced a $17.5 million equity funding deal with a syndicate of investors led by Toronto’s Cormark Securities, with plans to spend some of the money in expanding its manufacturing capacity and physical capital.

The raise was a “bought deal” public offering, meaning investment bank Cormark and its partners have purchased the stock directly, rather than merely facilitating its sale to other investors. Kraken said in a statement it expects the deal to close around May 16, and the investment banks have the right to purchase shares worth up to the equivalent of 15 percent of the funding package within the following 30 days.

The announcement comes just days after Kraken appointed Boston lawyer and private equity veteran Peter Hunter as its chairman, as the company continues to see strong revenue growth, particularly from its subsea batteries.

“Kraken expects to use the net proceeds to facilitate its long term strategy … further strengthen the company’s balance sheet in anticipation of upcoming customer and partners' decisions and source selection on additional large, new program and contract opportunities, and for general corporate purposes,” said the robotics-maker in a statement.

Earlier this month, Kraken posted record revenue figures for the second quarter in a row, revealing it brought in $28 million for the three months ended Dec. 31, which was a 218 percent increase over the same quarter the year prior.

Seventy percent of that revenue came from product sales and 30 percent from Kraken’s service business. The company’s revenue guidance for 2023 is now $66 million to $78 million of revenue, with earnings of $12 million to $17 million, and it expects to make between $90 million and $100 million of revenue in 2024.

Kraken’s shares, which trade on the TSX Venture, have stayed mostly flat since the funding announcement, closing at $1.02 Monday.