Amendment of Short-Term Loan Facility

RNS Number : 1481C

Oxford Biomedica PLC

07 October 2022

 

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Group to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 (as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018). Upon the publication of this announcement via the Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

Amendment of Short-Term Loan Facility into new Term Loan Facility With Oaktree

-  Partial repayment and amendment of $85 million Oaktree loan facility completed

-  Extended relationship with Oaktree via a new four-year term loan facility of $50 million with a variable interest rate capped at 10.25% per annum

Oxford, UK - 7 October 2022:  Oxford Biomedica plc (LSE:OXB) ("Oxford Biomedica" or "the Company"), a leading gene and cell therapy group, today announces that it has refinanced the US$85 million secured 12 month loan facility from funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. ("Oaktree") (the "Short Term Loan Facility") previously announced in March 2022.

Under the terms of such refinancing, the Company has partially repaid the outstanding amounts under the Short-Term Loan Facility and amended the facility into a new senior secured four year term loan facility provided by Oaktree in a principal amount of US$50 million (the "Term Loan").

The amended Term Loan contains similar terms to the prior 12 month loan facility and includes the usual and customary provisions relating to mandatory prepayments, covenants and representations and warranties. The Term Loan will mature four years after the date of completion and will not amortise, with the full aggregate principal and outstanding amount being repayable on the final maturity date.

The Term Loan will be secured by substantially all of the present and subsequently acquired assets of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries and be guaranteed by the Company's wholly-owned subsidiaries, with customary exceptions. The Term Loan carries a variable interest rate, which is capped at 10.25% per annum and payable quarterly in cash, with up to 50% of interest for the first twelve months payable in kind as additional loan principal, at the option of the Company. The interest rate is subject to downward adjustment following the satisfaction of certain commercial conditions. 

The Company also has secured the option, subject to customary conditions and available for a three-year period, to drawdown a further US$25 million from Oaktree to fund certain permitted acquisitions. 

Stuart Paynter, Chief Financial Officer of Oxford Biomedica, commented: " We are pleased to complete the refinancing of this loan, which will give us continued operational flexibility as we progress on delivering our strategic objectives. We continue to have a strong net cash position and have significantly extended the term of this facility which was originally taken out at the time we established Oxford Biomedica Solutions."

Aman Kumar, Co-Portfolio Manager of Life Sciences Lending at Oaktree, commented: "We are pleased to have the opportunity to extend our long-term relationship with Oxford Biomedica via this non-dilutive term financing. Since our initial investment in 2017, we have been impressed by the company's progress to cement itself as a leader in viral vector manufacturing."

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Enquiries: 

Oxford Biomedica plc:

Stuart Paynter, Chief Financial Officer - T: [phone]

Taylor Boyd, VP, Head of IR - T: [phone]

Sophia Bolhassan, VP, Corporate Affairs and IR - T: [phone]

Consilium Strategic Communications:

T: [phone] / E: [e-mail]

Mary-Jane Elliott / Matthew Cole  / Angela Gray

About Oxford Biomedica

Oxford Biomedica (LSE:OXB) is an innovative leading viral vector specialist focused on delivering life changing therapies to patients.

Oxford Biomedica plc and its subsidiaries (the Group) work across key viral vector delivery systems including those based on lentivirus, adeno-associated virus (AAV) and adenovirus, providing innovative solutions to cell and gene therapy biotechnology and biopharma companies for their process development, analytical development and manufacturing needs. Oxford Biomedica has built a sector leading lentiviral vector delivery system, LentiVector® platform, and is working on programmes from pre-clinical to commercial stage across a range of therapeutic areas with global partners.

Oxford Biomedica is based across several locations and headquartered in Oxfordshire, UK. In 2022, the Group established Oxford Biomedica Solutions, a US based subsidiary AAV manufacturing and innovation business, based near Boston, US.

Further information is available at www.oxb.com .

About Oaktree

Oaktree is a leader among global investment managers specializing in alternative investments, with $159 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2022. The firm emphasizes an opportunistic, value-oriented and risk-controlled approach to investments in credit, private equity, real assets and listed equities. The firm has over 1,000 employees and offices in 20 cities worldwide. For additional information, please visit Oaktree's website at http://www.oaktreecapital.com.

 

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