REG - Advanced Oncotherapy - Proposed Subscription to raise c.£15 million

Advanced OncotherapyAnnouncement

09/04/2020 07:00

RNS Number : 2933J
  
Advanced Oncotherapy PLC
  
09 April 2020
  
 

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 ("MAR"). With the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.
 
9 April 2020
 
ADVANCED ONCOTHERAPY PLC
 
("Advanced Oncotherapy" or the "Company")
 
 
Proposed Subscription to raise c.£15 million
 
COVID-19 Business Update
 
All critical components delivered to Daresbury; funding will progress assembly and validation of first LIGHT system
 
Documentation work for LIGHT continues despite site closures due to COVID-19 
 
Advanced Oncotherapy (AIM: AVO), the developer of next-generation proton therapy systems for cancer treatment, is pleased to announce an equity fundraise of £14,887,500, before expenses, from new and existing investors through the issue of 59,550,000 new ordinary shares (the "Subscription Shares") at a price of 25 pence per share (the "Issue Price") through a direct subscription with the Company (the "Subscription"). 
 
As part of the Subscription, and as detailed below, certain Directors intend to invest £190,000 to subscribe for 760,000 Subscription Shares at the Issue Price. 
 
The funds raised from the Subscription will contribute to the funding for progressing the assembly, documentation, verification and validation activities in order to obtain regulatory approval of Advanced Oncotherapy's first LIGHT system.
 
In addition, a total of 780,100 new ordinary shares (the "Adviser Fee Shares") will be  issued as non-cash consideration at the Issue Price in lieu of fees due to a number of counterparties including certain financial advisers.
 
The Subscription is conditional, inter alia, upon the Company obtaining approval of shareholders of resolutions to be proposed at a general meeting of the Company (the "GM"), to provide sufficient authority to the Directors to enable allotment of the New Ordinary Shares and disapply statutory pre-emption rights which would otherwise apply to the allotment of the New Ordinary Shares (the "Resolutions"). 
 
A circular containing information in relation to the Subscription and convening the GM (the "Circular") will be sent to shareholders during the week commencing 13 April 2020 and will be available on the Company's website thereafter at www.avoplc.com. It is anticipated that the GM will be held on or around 11 May 2020.
 
Application will be made for the Subscription Shares and the Adviser Fee Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM and it is expected that admission will take place on or around 15 May 2020 ("Admission"). 
 
Director participation in the Subscription 
 
Certain directors intend to participate in the Subscription for, in aggregate, 760,000 Subscription Shares (representing £190,000 at the Issue Price). These intentions are not legally binding and the subscriptions by the directors will be announced in a separate announcement. The contents of this announcement assume that the subscriptions by the directors proceed in full.
 
A further announcement is expected to be made shortly.
 
COVID-19 business update
 
Advanced Oncotherapy's main priority is the health and safety of its staff, and it is committed to all measures that support the wellbeing of its employees, during the global coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. The Company has successfully transitioned to remote working and contingency plans have been established to support business continuity.
 
On 26 March 2020, the UK government's Stay at Home Measures were passed into law in England and Wales, with immediate effect. As a result, the Daresbury Laboratory and Harley Street sites have been temporarily closed and the staff at Daresbury employed by the Company have been placed on furlough leave. 
 
The Company was already working to a tight deadline to bring the LIGHT System into operation by the end of 2020. It now believes that the closure of these facilities will delay this objective and first patient treatment into 2021. In the meantime, the core team of the Company has shifted to focussing on finalising the documentation required for the LIGHT System to gain regulatory approval. Most of this work is capable of being carried out remotely. With all of the critical machine parts having already been delivered to Daresbury, the Company is ready to recommence operations as soon as possible and the market will be kept up to date as and when there are any material developments.
 
Nicolas Serandour, CEO of Advanced Oncotherapy, commented: 
 
"Given the current difficult equity market conditions, we are extremely pleased to announce this fundraising of c.£15 million backed by both new investors and existing shareholders. The funds raised will allow Advanced Oncotherapy to continue with the key development activities needed to obtain regulatory approval for our first LIGHT system at the Daresbury Laboratory including documentation and software development. We shall update the market on these and further developments in our pipeline for commercial orders in due course. The proton therapy market remains under-developed because of current high costs and a significant unmet medical need due to the rising population. We continue to believe that our LIGHT System will help address these issues for patients across the world once approved."
 
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR)
 
MAR came into effect from 3 July 2016. Market soundings, as defined in MAR, were taken in respect of the Subscription with the result that certain persons became aware of inside information, as permitted by MAR. That inside information is set out in this announcement has been disclosed as soon as possible in accordance with paragraph 7 of article 17 of MAR. Therefore, those persons that received inside information in a market sounding are no longer in possession of inside information relating to the Company and its securities.
 
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Advanced Oncotherapy plc


www.avoplc.com




Dr. Michael Sinclair, Executive Chairman 


Tel: +44 (0) 20 3617 8728




Nicolas Serandour, CEO


















Allenby Capital Limited (Nomad & Broker)








Nick Athanas / Liz Kirchner / Nicholas Chambers


Tel: +44 (0) 20 3328 5656














FTI Consulting (Financial PR & IR)


advancedoncotherapy@fticonsulting.com




Simon Conway / Rob Winder


Tel: +44 (0) 20 3727 1000



 
Notes for Editors
 
About Advanced Oncotherapy Plc www.avoplc.com
 
Advanced Oncotherapy, a UK headquartered company with offices in London, Geneva, The Netherlands and in the USA, is a provider of particle therapy with protons that harnesses the best in modern technology. Advanced Oncotherapy's team "ADAM," based in Geneva, focuses on the development of a proprietary proton accelerator called, Linac Image Guided Hadron Technology (LIGHT). LIGHT's compact configuration delivers proton beams in a way that facilitates greater precision and electronic control.
 
Advanced Oncotherapy will offer healthcare providers affordable systems that will enable them to treat cancer with innovative technology as well as expected lower treatment-related side effects.
 
Advanced Oncotherapy continually monitors the market for any emerging improvements in delivering proton therapy and actively seeks working relationships with providers of these innovative technologies. Through these relationships, the Company will remain the prime provider of an innovative and cost-effective system for particle therapy with protons.


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