Placing and Issue of Equity

RNS Number : 5790P

OptiBiotix Health PLC

30 May 2018

 

30 May 2018

OptiBiotix Health plc

("OptiBiotix" or the "Company")

Placing and Issue of Equity

OptiBiotix Health plc (AIM: OPTI), a life sciences business developing compounds to tackle obesity, high cholesterol, diabetes, announces that the Company has raised £1,500,000 through the issue of 2,419,355 new ordinary shares of 2 pence each in the Company ("Ordinary Shares") (together the "Placing Shares") at a price of 62 pence per share.

As highlighted in its annual report the Company's cash position remains strong with sufficient funds to deliver on existing plans. However, growing commercial interest in the Company's award winning technology and products have generated new opportunities which if capitalised on have the potential for significant value enhancement. These include:-

·     The development of the Company's cholesterol and blood pressure reducing strain LP_LDL^® as a pharmaceutical product. Under existing plans OptiBiotix's products have been developed for the ingredient and supplements market. Following on from the deal with Akums (as announced on 16 May 2018) the     Company has received partner interest to license LP_LDL^® as a pharmaceutical product in the USA and a number of other international markets. Whilst partners will fund regulatory submissions and clinical studies, there is a requirement for OptiBiotix to invest in developing process controls and quality procedures to comply with pharmaceutical production of LP_LDL^®.

·     OptiBiotix reported interest from a number of corporate partners in its SweetBiotix product development (as announced on 27 March 2018). These include manufacturing partners and application developers who want to use SweetBiotix in a wide range of dairy, bread, cereal, and beverage applications. To enable OptiBiotix to meet multiple partner needs and to fully exploit all opportunities additional scientific support is needed to complement the current team.

·     The Company has received widespread industry recognition and awards for its SlimBiome^® product which has now been incorporated into a wide range of applications. This is part of a process of extending SlimBiome^® into a broader range of Health and Wellbeing food and beverage products and attract major retail interest. In order to list SlimBiome^® as an own label or branded product in one or more major retailers requires funds to support upfront manufacturing and stocking costs.  

Application will be made to the London Stock Exchange to admit the 2,419,355 new Ordinary Shares to trading on AIM. Admission of the Placing Shares is expected to occur on or around 4 June 2018. The Placing Shares will rank pari passu with the existing Ordinary Shares.

For the purpose of the Disclosure and Transparency Rules, following the issue of shares detailed above the enlarged issued share capital of the Company will comprise 82,905,067 Ordinary Shares. The above figure may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the Company, under the Disclosure and Transparency Rules.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014.

Stephen O'Hara, CEO of OptiBiotix, said: "The Company has received a high level of partner interest in its technology and products across new application areas and territories that have the potential for significant value uplift. It has become clear that new opportunities, particularly the development of LP_LDL^® into a pharmaceutical product, the high level of corporate interest in SweetBiotix across multiple applications, and the potential for listing a range of Health and Wellbeing products with major retailers are not achievable in the short term within current resources. Rather than delay these opportunities until OptiBiotix has sufficient revenues to cover costs, the Board has decided to take additional funds to capitalise on these growth opportunities and build shareholder value. Whilst the subscription was oversubscribed the company has limited the funds received to ensure a focus on value creation and has added new institutional investors to the share register."

For further information, please contact:

OptiBiotix Health plc		www.optibiotix.com
Stephen O'Hara, Chief Executive		Contact via Walbrook below
Cairn Financial Advisers LLP		Tel: [phone]
Liam Murray / Jo Turner
finnCap Broker		Tel: [phone]
Adrian Hargrave / Scott Mathieson / Kate Bannatyne (Corporate Finance)
Walbrook PR Ltd	Tel: [phone] or [e-mail]
Anna Dunphy		Mob: [phone]

About OptiBiotix - www.optibiotix.com

OptiBiotix was formed in March 2012 to develop compounds which modify the human microbiome - the collective genome of the microbes in the body - to prevent and manage human disease. 

The aim of OptiBiotix is to discover and develop microbial strains, compounds and formulations, which modulate the human microbiome and can be used as food ingredients and supplements or active compounds for the prevention and management of human metabolic diseases, examples of which include obesity, cholesterol and lipid distribution and diabetes. 

OptiBiotix has established a pipeline of microbiome modulators that can impact on lipid and cholesterol management, energy harvest and appetite suppression. The development pipeline is fuelled by its proprietary OptiScreen® and OptiBiotic® platform technologies designed to identify metabolic pathways and compounds that impact on human physiology and bring potential health benefits.

 

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