poLight ASA: Increase of underwriting - Updated information for resolutions proposed to the extraordinary general meeting
NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN CANADA, JAPAN, AUSTRALIA OR THE UNITED STATES, OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER OF ANY OF THE SECURITIES DESCRIBED HEREIN.
Reference is made to the stock exchange announcement published by poLight ASA (the "Company") on 20 March 2023, concerning, among other things, a notice for an extraordinary general meeting (the "EGM") to discuss and approve a partially underwritten rights issue, to raise gross proceeds of up to NOK 135 million (the "Rights Issue").
The Company's Board of Directors (the "Board") is pleased to inform that it has today approved to enter into an agreement with the two largest underwriters for the Rights Issue for an additional top-up underwriting of NOK 35 million (the "Top-Up Underwriting Obligation") for the Rights Issue, which implies that the Rights Issue will be fully underwritten (subject to approval by the EGM). The Top-Up Underwriting Obligation is provided for an equal underwriting fee as the original underwriting obligation of NOK 100 million, i.e., an underwriting fee of 10%, payable in new shares in the Company. The Top-Up Underwriting Obligation will not give preferential rights to allocation of shares, meaning that the rights of the shareholders to subscribe for shares in the Rights Issue will not be reduced with the Top-Up Underwriting Obligation.
As further described in the notice for the EGM, the subscription price in the Rights Issue is proposed to equal the theoretical ex-rights price ("TERP") of the Company's shares based on the volume-weighted average price ("VWAP") of the Company's shares on the Oslo Stock Exchange on the last trading day prior to the EGM, less a discount of 30%.
The Company's Board of Directors (the "Board") has today, based on a recommendation from Pareto Securities AS (acting as Manager for the Rights Issue) determined that the subscription price in the Rights Issue is proposed set to NOK 10.45 per share, which represents a discount of 30% to the TERP of the Company's shares based on the VWAP of the Company's shares on the Oslo Stock Exchange as of today, 11 April 2023, of NOK 14.9337 per share.
On this basis, the Board has resolved to propose to the EGM that the Company's share capital is proposed increased with NOK 516,746.40 by issuance of 12,918,660 new shares, each with a par value of NOK 0.04. The subscription price will be proposed set to NOK 10.45 per new share. The updated proposal to the EGM also reflects the Top-Up Underwriting Obligation.
For further information regarding the Rights Issue, please see the notice for the EGM, which is available on https://www.polight.com/investors/general-meetings/default.aspx.
Advisers:
Pareto Securities AS has been retained by the Company to act as manager and bookrunner for the Rights Issue.
Advokatfirmaet CLP DA is acting as legal adviser to the Company in connection with the Rights Issue.
Further information from:
Dr. Øyvind Isaksen, CEO, poLight ASA: +47 90 87 63 98
About poLight ASA
poLight offers a new autofocus lens which "replicates" the human eye for use in devices such as smartphones, wearables, barcode, machine vision systems and various medical equipment. poLight's TLens® enables better system performance and new user experiences due to benefits such as extremely fast focus, small footprint, no magnetic interference, low power consumption and constant field of view. poLight is based in Horten, Norway, with employees in Finland, France, UK, US China, Taiwan and the Philippines. For more information, please visit https://www.polight.com
IMPORTANT NOTICE
This announcement is not and does not form a part of any offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to purchase, any securities of the Company. Copies of this announcement are not being made and may not be distributed or sent into any jurisdiction in which such distribution would be unlawful or would require registration or other measures. Any offering of the securities referred to in this announcement will be made by means of a set of subscription materials provided to potential investors. Investors should not subscribe for any securities referred to in this announcement except on the basis of information contained in the aforementioned subscription material.
The securities referred to in this announcement have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act") or with any securities regulatory authority of any state or other jurisdiction in the United States and may not be offered, sold, pledged or otherwise transferred within the United States. The Company does not intend to register any part of the offering in the United States or to conduct a public offering of securities in the United States.
In any member state of the European Economic Area (each, an "EEA Member State"), this communication is only addressed to and is only directed at qualified investors in that EEA Member State within the meaning of the Prospectus Regulation, i.e., only to investors who can receive the offer without an approved prospectus in such EEA Member State. The expression "Prospectus Regulation" means Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 as amended (together with any applicable implementing measures in any EEA Member State).
This communication is only being distributed to and is only directed at persons in the United Kingdom that are (i) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the "Order") or (ii) high net worth entities, and other persons to whom this announcement may lawfully be communicated, falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (all such persons together being referred to as "relevant persons"). This communication must not be acted on or relied on by persons who are not relevant persons. Any investment or investment activity to which this communication relates is available only for relevant persons and will be engaged in only with relevant persons. Persons distributing this communication must satisfy themselves that it is lawful to do so.
Matters discussed in this announcement may constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and may be identified by words such as "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "strategy", "intends", "estimate", "will", "may", "continue", "should" and similar expressions. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions. Although the Company believe that these assumptions were reasonable when made, these assumptions are inherently subject to significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other important factors which are difficult or impossible to predict, and are beyond their control. Actual events may differ significantly from any anticipated development due to a number of factors, including without limitation, changes in public sector investment levels, changes in the general economic, political and market conditions in the markets in which the Company operates, the Company's ability to attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel, changes in the Company's ability to engage in commercially acceptable acquisitions and strategic investments, and changes in laws and regulation and the potential impact of legal proceedings and actions. Such risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other important factors could cause actual events to differ materially from the expectations expressed or implied in this release by such forward-looking statements. The Company does not make any guarantee that the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements in this announcement are free from errors nor does it accept any responsibility for the future accuracy of the opinions expressed in this announcement or any obligation to update or revise the statements in this announcement to reflect subsequent events. You should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements in this announcement.
The information, opinions and forward-looking statements contained in this announcement speak only as at its date, and are subject to change without notice. The Company does not undertake any obligation to review, update, confirm, or to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that arise in relation to the content of this announcement.
Neither the Manager nor any of its affiliates makes any representation as to the accuracy or completeness of this announcement and none of them accepts any responsibility for the contents of this announcement or any matters referred to herein.
This announcement is for information purposes only and is not to be relied upon in substitution for the exercise of independent judgment. It is not intended as investment advice and under no circumstances is it to be used or considered as an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a recommendation to buy or sell any securities of the Company. Neither the Manager nor any of its affiliates accepts any liability arising from the use of this announcement.
In connection with the Rights Issue, the Manager and any of its affiliates, acting as investors for their own accounts, may subscribe for or purchase shares and in that capacity may retain, purchase, sell, offer to sell or otherwise deal for their own accounts in such shares and other securities of the Company or related investments in connection with the Rights Issue or otherwise. Accordingly, references in any subscription materials to the shares being issued, offered, subscribed, acquired, placed or otherwise dealt in should be read as including any issue or offer to, or subscription, acquisition, placing or dealing by, the Manager and any of its affiliates acting as investors for their own accounts. The Manager does not intend to disclose the extent of any such investment or transactions otherwise than in accordance with any legal or regulatory obligations to do so.
The distribution of this announcement and other information may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions. Persons into whose possession this announcement or such other information should come are required to inform themselves about and to observe any such restrictions.