OptiBiotix Health PLC (LON:OPTI) has raised £1mln in a share placing that it says will be used to scale up its SweetBiotix products and launch its ranges in China, the USA, and India.
The AIM-listed firm said it raised the funds through a placing of 2.5mln new shares at a price of 40p each, an 18% discount to its closing price on Thursday.
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In addition to the scale-up of SweetBiotix and the international launches, OptiBiotix said the money will also be used to support the launch of product line extensions with its existing partner firms as well as expanding the presence and awareness of its products in the US market.
“The company has received a high level of partner interest in its technology and products across new application areas and new territories (e.g. China), that have the potential for significant value uplift. It has become clear that there is a window of opportunity to exploit interest in SweetBiotix across multiple applications and the potential for listing existing products with major retailers in large international markets”, said chief executive Stephen O'Hara in a statement.
“Rather than delay these opportunities until OptiBiotix has sufficient revenues to cover costs, the Board has decided to take additional funds to capitalise on these growth opportunities and build shareholder value. The Company has limited the funds received to ensure it remains focused on value creation and is delighted to have added a number of new institutional investors to the share register", he added.
O'Hara and certain other of Optibiotix's directors subscribed for in aggregate 128,750 of the new ordinary shares as part of the placing, the group said.
OptiBiotix shares were 10.1% lower at 44.1p in late-morning trading on Friday.