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For immediate release
Curetis raises €8.9 million through private placements
• Placed 4,450,000 new shares priced at €2.00 per share
• Company to reassess priorities and allocation of funds
This announcement contains inside information within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the Market Abuse Regulation.
Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Holzgerlingen, Germany, and San Diego, USA, November 7, 2018, 18:50 CET - Curetis N.V. (the "Company" and together with its subsidiaries "Curetis"), a developer of next-level molecular diagnostic solutions, today announced the completion of the private placements to institutional investors, which were launched on November 2, 2018 (the "Offering").
Offering Highlights:
• Placed 4,450,000 new ordinary shares in private placements with institutional investors in Europe and the U.S.;
• Offer priced at €2.00 per share;
• Gross proceeds of €8.9 million, resulting in additional available funds for the Company of approximately €7.3 million;
• In light of the lower than expected gross proceeds, the Company will be reassessing its strategic priorities and allocation of funds for (i) commercialization of its Unyvero Platform and LRT Application Cartridge in the U.S., (ii) its European commercialization activities, (iii) working capital requirements, (iv) research and development programs and (v) general corporate purposes;
• First trading of the new ordinary shares expected on November 8, 2018.
"While we are pleased that we could price the offering and place a significant number of shares with existing and high-quality new institutional investors, current capital market conditions did not allow us to place the full number of shares," said Oliver Schacht, PhD, CEO of Curetis. "With the proceeds we raised from this offering, we will now be reassessing the priorities and allocation of funds in terms of the best use of proceeds. We will inform our shareholders on such priorities as well as any potentially required changes to our guidance in due course. We also continue to work with our supervisory board to assess all strategic options and operational requirements to secure appropriate funding and cash for continued operations for at least the next 12 months."
Offering Details
In the Offering, 4,450,000 newly issued ordinary shares (the "Offer Shares"), which represent approximately 27% of the current issued share capital of the Company, were placed with institutional investors in Europe and the U.S. (including certain existing shareholders).
The Offer Shares were placed at a price of €2.00 per Share, raising gross proceeds for the Company of €8.9 million. After deducting the estimated expenses, commissions and taxes related to the Offering of €2.5 million of which €0.9 million have already been paid, the Company expects to receive approximately €7.3 million in additional available funds. In connection with the Offering, the Company has agreed to be subject to a lock-up for a period of 180 days following the Settlement Date (as defined below), subject to certain customary exceptions.
The Company intends to use the proceeds from the sale of the Offer Shares for (i) funding the commercialization of its Unyvero Platform and LRT Application Cartridge in the U.S., (ii) the expansion of its European commercialization activities, (iii) working capital requirements, (iv) research and development programs and (v) for general corporate purposes but will re-assess the priorities and allocation of proceeds to fund these in the light of the lower than expected proceeds from this offering.
The delivery of the Offer Shares is expected on November 9, 2018 (the "Settlement Date").
The ordinary shares in the capital of the Company, with a nominal value of €0.01 each, ("Shares"), excluding the Offer Shares, are listed and traded under the symbol "CURE" on Euronext in Amsterdam, a regulated market of Euronext Amsterdam N.V. and Euronext in Brussels, a regulated market of Euronext Brussels NV/SA, and have the ISIN code NL0011509294. The Offer Shares will be listed on Euronext in Amsterdam and Euronext in Brussels under the same symbol and with the same ISIN code.
As a result of the Offering and the placements of new Shares, the total number of issued and outstanding Shares will increase from 16,458,802 to 20,908,802.
A prospectus (the "Prospectus") relating to the admission to listing and trading on Euronext in Amsterdam and Euronext in Brussels of the Offer Shares was approved by the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (Stichting Autoriteit Financiële Markten, the "AFM") on November 2, 2018, and dated November 2, 2018, and is available on the Curetis website (www.curetis.com/en/investors/offering.html). At the Company's request, the AFM has notified its approval of the Prospectus to the competent authorities in Belgium.