TIDMEDEN
RNS Number : 4660T
Eden Research plc
30 March 2016
NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN
PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN, INTO OR FROM UNITED STATES,
AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN, THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA OR ANY OTHER
JURISDICTION IN WHICH IT WOULD BE UNLAWFUL TO DO SO.
30 March 2016
Eden Research plc
("Eden" or "Company")
Placing to raise GBP2.6m
Eden Research plc (AIM: EDEN), the AIM-listed company that
provides breakthrough natural microencapsulation technologies to
the global agrochemicals, animal health and consumer products
industries, announces that it has raised GBP2.6 million, before
expenses, through a placing with new and existing institutional
shareholders by Shore Capital Stockbrokers Limited ("Shore
Capital") of 25,365,854 new ordinary shares of 1p each in the
Company (the "Placing Shares") at a price of 10.25p each ("the
Placing").
The Company intends to use the proceeds of the Placing, inter
alia, to:
-- Register new products and increase the global reach of existing Eden products
-- Commence new R&D trials in both plant protection products and personal care applications
-- Pursue commercialisation of animal health products outside of the United States
-- Expand business and brand development activities
Eden's Chief Executive, Sean Smith, commented: "The Placing is
an important milestone in Eden's development, enabling the Company
to accelerate its expansion without the funding constraints under
which the Company has operated to date. In particular, the Placing
will enable us to expand our product portfolio and geographical
footprint for both existing and new products. We have worked hard
to secure product registrations in Europe and Africa and build a
strong base of commercialisation partners in these regions, and we
look forward to further leveraging our past investments and
relationships in order achieve the full potential of Eden's
technology globally."
The Placing Shares will rank pari passu in all respects with the
Company's existing ordinary shares of 1 pence each in the Company
("Ordinary Shares") and will represent 13.7% of the Company's
enlarged issued share capital. Application has been made for the
Placing Shares to be admitted to AIM and it is expected that
admission will take place and trading in the Placing Shares will
commence from 8.00 a.m. on 1 April 2016 ("Admission").
In connection with the Placing, Shore Capital, the Company and
its directors have entered into a placing agreement pursuant to
which Shore Capital has agreed conditionally to use its reasonable
endeavours to place the Placing Shares at the Placing Price. The
Placing (which is not underwritten) is conditional, inter alia, on
the Placing Agreement becoming unconditional in all respects and
not having been terminated in accordance with its terms and
Admission.
As part of their placing participation of 19,512,195 Placing
Shares (amounting to approximately GBP2 million at the Placing
Price and representing 10.6 per cent. of the enlarged share
capital), Livingbridge VC LLP has been granted the right to appoint
a director to the board of the Company for as long as it retains a
minimum interest of five per cent. of the issued share capital of
the Company.
Following Admission, the Company's total issued and voting share
capital will comprise 184,654,119 Ordinary Shares. 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, securities of the
Company.
Enquiries:
Eden Research plc www.edenresearch.com
Sean Smith, Chief Executive Tel: 01285 359 555
Officer
Alex Abrey, Chief Financial
Officer
Shore Capital
Stephane Auton / Patrick Tel: 020 7408 4090
Castle
Walbrook PR Ltd Tel: 020 7933 8780 or eden@walbrookpr.com
Paul McManus Mob: 07980 541 893
Notes:
Eden is an early stage revenue company with intellectual
property and expertise in encapsulation, terpenes and
environmentally friendly technologies to provide naturally
occurring solutions to the global agrochemicals industry, the
animal health industry, and consumer products.
Eden's encapsulation technology harnesses the biocidal efficacy
of naturally occurring chemicals produced by plants (terpenes) and
can also be used with both natural and synthetic hydrophobic
compounds. The technology uses yeast cells that are a by-product of
numerous commercial production processes to deliver a slow release
of natural compounds for agricultural and non-agricultural uses.
Terpenes are already widely used in the food flavouring, cosmetic
and pharmaceutical industries.
Historically, terpenes have had limited commercial use in the
agrochemical sector due to their volatility, phytotoxicity and poor
solubility. Eden's platform encapsulation technology provides a
unique, environmentally friendly solution to these problems and
enables terpenes to be used as effective, low-risk
agrochemicals.
With leading consultants in their respective fields, the Company
is developing these technologies through innovative research and a
series of commercial production, marketing and distribution
partnerships.
The Company has a number of patents and a pipeline of products
at differing stages of development targeting specific areas of the
global agrochemicals industry. To date, the Company has invested in
the region of GBP12m in developing and protecting its intellectual
property and seeking regulatory approval for products that rely
upon the Company's technologies. Revenues earned by the Company
have been modest whilst the Company has concentrated on securing
patent protection for its intellectual property, gaining regulatory
approvals, identifying suitable industrial partners, and entering
into licence agreements.
In May of 2013, the three actives that comprise Eden's first
commercial product, 3AEY, were approved as new ingredients for use
in plant protection products. This represents a major milestone in
the commercialisation of Eden's technology and is a significant
accomplishment for any company. To illustrate this point, one
should note that in all of 2013, Eden's approvals represented 3 of
only 10 new active ingredients approved by the EC.
3AEY has been authorised for sale in Kenya, Malta, Greece,
Bulgaria, Spain and Italy.
Eden was admitted to trading on AIM on 11 May 2012 and trades
under the symbol EDEN.
For more information about Eden, please visit:
www.edenresearch.com
Disclaimer
Shore Capital, which is authorised and regulated in the UK by
the Financial Conduct Authority, is acting as Broker exclusively
for the Company in connection with the Placing and will not be
responsible to any person other than the Company for providing the
protections afforded to its customers or for advising any other
person on the contents of this announcement or any matter,
transaction or arrangement referred to herein.
This announcement has been issued by the Company and is the sole
responsibility of the Company. No representation or warranty,
express or implied, is or will be made as to, or in relation to,
and no responsibility or liability is or will be accepted by Shore
Capital or by any of its affiliates or agents as to, or in relation
to, the accuracy or completeness of this announcement or any other
written or oral information made available to or publicly available
to any interested party or its advisers, and any liability
therefore is expressly disclaimed.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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March 30, 2016 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)