Whitbread to raise $1.2 billion to weather COVID-19 crisis as profit drops
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(Reuters) - Premier Inn owner Whitbread on Thursday set out plans to raise 1.01 billion pounds through a rights issue as it looks to bolster its balance sheet amid the coronavirus crisis, which caused a 28.4% plunge in annual earnings.Through the rights issue, Whitbread is proposing to offer one new share for every two existing shares.The company also said statutory pretax profit dropped to 280 million pounds for the year ended Feb. 27 from 218 million pounds a year earlier.