Versarien PLC Placing to raise GBP650,000 (9962F)

TIDMVRS

RNS Number : 9962F

Versarien PLC

14 July 2023

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (EU) 596/2014 (AS AMENDED) AS IT FORMS PART OF THE DOMESTIC LAW OF THE UNITED KINGDOM BY VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018 (AS AMENDED). UPON PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCMENT, THIS INSIDE INFORMATION IS NOW CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.

14 July 2023

Versarien plc

("Versarien" or the "Company")

Placing to raise GBP650,000

Versarien plc (AIM: VRS), the advanced materials engineering group, announces it has raised GBP650,000 (before expenses) by way of a placing (the "Placing") of 65,000,000 new ordinary shares in the capital of the Company ("Placing Shares") at a price of 1.0 pence per share (the "Placing Price").

Highlights

-- Versarien has raised GBP650,000, before expenses, through placing of 65,000,000 new ordinary shares in the capital of the Company at a price of 1.0 pence per share

-- The net proceeds of the Placing will be used for working capital purposes and as bridge finance to extend the Company's cash runway ahead of any funds received from asset sales

-- The issue of the Placing Shares is within existing authorities granted by shareholders at the general meeting of the Company held in July 2023 and therefore no shareholder approval is required for the Placing

   --    Company directors, Chris Leigh and Stephen Hodge, participated in the Placing 

Use of Proceeds and Turnaround Strategy

The net proceeds of the Placing will be used for working capital purposes and as bridge finance to extend the Company's cash runway ahead of any funds received from asset sales.

As previously announced, the Company is pursuing a disposal of assets, including its mature businesses and the intellectual property and plant acquired from Hanwha Aerospace in 2020, and a number of interested parties are reviewing information in the data rooms. The timing of any asset sales and the quantum of the funds that may be received is uncertain.

Chris Leigh, Chief Financial Officer of Versarien, commented:

"Following the passing of the resolutions at the general meeting held earlier this month, the Board has decided that it would be prudent to raise further finance to assist in bridging to the proposed asset sales. We look forward to updating shareholders on continuing progress with the turnaround strategy in the coming months."

Director Participation

The following directors of Versarien participated in the Placing:

 
 Director              Number of Placing      Total Ordinary     Total interest 
                       Shares subscribed    Shares following    in the enlarged 
                                     for         the Placing      share capital 
 Chris Leigh, 
  Chief Financial 
  Officer                      1,000,000           1,315,000              0.40% 
                     -------------------  ------------------  ----------------- 
 Stephen Hodge, 
  Chief Technology 
  Officer                      1,000,000           1,046,774              0.32% 
                     -------------------  ------------------  ----------------- 
 

Related Party Transaction

The Placing participation from Chris Leigh and Stephen Hodge is considered a related-party transaction for the purposes of Rule 13 of the AIM Rules for Companies. The directors (other than Chris Leigh and Stephen Hodge) consider, having consulted with SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP, the Company's nominated adviser, that the participation by Chris Leigh and Stephen Hodge in the Placing is fair and reasonable in so far as Versarien's shareholders are concerned.

Admission and Total Voting Rights

Application will be made for admission of the Placing Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM ("Admission") on or around 20 July 2023. The Placing Shares will rank pari passu in all respects with the Company's existing ordinary shares. Following Admission, the total number of ordinary shares in the Company in issue will be 330,779,690. This 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 FCA's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.

For further information please contact:

 
Versarien                                  c/o IFC 
 Chris Leigh, Chief Financial Officer 
 Stephen Hodge, Chief Technology Officer 
 
SP Angel Corporate Finance (Nominated 
 Adviser and Broker)                       [phone] 
 Matthew Johnson, Adam Cowl                 0470 
 
IFC Advisory Limited (Financial PR and 
 Investor Relations)                       [phone] 
 Tim Metcalfe, Zach Cohen                   6630 
 

About Versarien:

The strategy of Versarien plc (AIM:VRS) is to be a development led advanced materials company focussed on specific sectors that will lead to a light manufacturing and licensing model.

   For further information please see :   http://www.versarien.com 

Notification and public disclosure of transactions by persons discharging managerial responsibilities and persons closely associated with them:

 
      1.   Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities/person closely associated 
  (1)      Full name of person Dealing       1. Chris Leigh 
                                              2. Stephen Hodge 
          --------------------------------  -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 2.        Reason for notification 
          ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
  (2)      Position/status                   1. Chief Financial Officer 
                                              2. Chief Technology Officer 
          --------------------------------  -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
  (3)      Initial notification/ Amendment   Initial notification 
          --------------------------------  -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 3.        Details of the issuer, emission allowance market participant, auction platform, auctioneer 
            or auction monitor 
          ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
  (4)      Name of entity                    Versarien plc 
          --------------------------------  -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
  (5)      LEI                               213800D6NZED7V8W2Z34 
          --------------------------------  -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 4.        Details of the transaction(s): section to be repeated for (i) each type of instrument; (ii) 
            each type of transaction; (iii) each date; and (iv) each place where transactions have been 
            conducted 
          ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
  (6)      Description of the financial      Ordinary shares of 1 pence each 
           instrument, type of instrument 
          --------------------------------  -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
  (7)      Identification code               GB00B8YZTJ80 
          --------------------------------  -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
  (8)      Nature of the transaction         Participation in Placing 
          --------------------------------  -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
  (9)      Price(s) and volume(s)             Share Prices(s)    Share Volume(s) 
                                                1. 1 pence        1,000,000 
                                                                 ---------------- 
                                                2. 1 pence        1,000,000 
                                                                 ---------------- 
          --------------------------------  -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
  (10)     Aggregated information:            Single transaction as in 4(d) above  Share Prices(s)     Share Volume(s) 
            - Aggregated volume                  1. 1 pence          1,000,000 
            - Price                                                ----------------- 
                                                 2. 1 pence          1,000,000 
                                                                   ----------------- 
          --------------------------------  -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
  (11)     Date of transaction               14 July 2023 
          --------------------------------  -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
  (12)     Place of transaction              Outside a trading venue 
          --------------------------------  -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 

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July 14, 2023 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)