OTAQ Plc (OTAQ)
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS RESTRICTED AND FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER OF SECURITIES FOR SALE IN, INTO OR FROM
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE OR CONTAIN ANY INVITATION, SOLICITATION, RECOMMENDATION, OFFER OR ADVICE TO ANY PERSON TO PURCHASE AND/OR SUBSCRIBE FOR, OTHERWISE ACQUIRE OR DISPOSE OF ANY SECURITIES IN OTAQ PLC OR ANY OTHER ENTITY IN ANY JURISDICTION.
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF ARTICLE 7 OF EU REGULATION 596/2014 (WHICH FORMS PART OF DOMESTIC
17 May 2024
OTAQ plc ("OTAQ", the "Company" or the "Group")
Trading Update and Proposed Fundraising
OTAQ, (OTAQ.AQ) a highly innovative technology company targeting the aquaculture and offshore markets, has today announced that the Company is proposing to conduct a fundraising by way of a conditional placing of convertible loan notes (the “Convertible Loan Notes”) to raise net proceeds of up to
An announcement containing further details of the Placing and a timetable of expected principal events will be published shortly. A shareholder circular including notice convening the General Meeting (the “Circular”) will then be posted to shareholders.
Trading Update As previously announced, the Company expects to announce that trading in the year to 31 December 2023 was slightly ahead of management’s expectations with revenues of not less than
Trading in Q1 FY24 has been encouraging, with revenues up 19% over Q1 FY23. and the Company continues to see progress across the Group. The Offshore Products division has maintained the positive performance seen in 2023. Aquaculture has also seen a number of positive developments. The Company’s sonar shrimp system developed for Minnowtech LLC, is now gaining traction in its target markets. The Company has also identified further new customer interest in the Company’s established Sealfence solution from salmon farmers several major salmon production regions, having sold 19 Sealfence units into these core target markets in the first quarter.
LPAS Contract The Company is pleased to confirm that following four years in development, :OTAQ has now completed successful trials of its Live Plankton Analysis System (LPAS), and has this week launched LPAS at the Aquaculture
Proposed Placing of Convertible Loan Notes It is anticipated that the Convertible Loan Notes will be issued on the following terms:
Further details regarding the terms of the Convertible Loan Notes will be announced in due course.
The Placing will be undertaken by Dowgate Capital Limited on behalf of the Company. To date, the Company has received non-binding indications of interest from certain institutional and other qualified investors to participate in the Placing of
The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Placing:
The Placing will be conditional upon, among other things, the approval of OTAQ shareholders at the General Meeting, full details will be set out in the Circular.
The Convertible Loan Notes to be issued pursuant to the Placing will not be admitted to trading on any stock exchange.
Phil Newby, Chief Executive Officer of OTAQ, said: “The Board acknowledges with satisfaction the Company's progress, especially the favorable market conditions in the Offshore sector, where OTAQ is strategically positioned to pursue emerging global growth prospects for its OceanSense, Eagle IP, and subsea electrical connector & penetrator solutions.
“Given the anticipated improvement in reported revenue for 2023 and the favourable start to 2024, the Board remains confident in its current growth strategy. The recent commercial launch of LPAS marks a significant milestone for the Company, one that we are poised to develop throughout the remainder of 2024 and beyond.”
Enquiries
About OTAQ
OTAQ is a highly innovative technology company focused upon the aquaculture and offshore markets. It already has a number of established products in its portfolio and is focused on further developing its presence, customer base and cross selling opportunities within core markets both organically and via acquisition.
OTAQ’s aquaculture products, which include a sonar device (developed for Minnowtech LLC) to scan shrimp in ponds and water quality monitoring, are focused on maximising welfare and production yields. Additionally, the Company has developed what it believes to be a potentially game changing live plankton analysis product for finfish and shellfish farmers. It also continues to target opportunities in the acoustic deterrent devices market via its Sealfence product, which is used by salmon farmers, with global opportunities in a number of the major salmon production regions of the world.
OTAQ’s offshore product range includes OceanSense subsea leak detection, Eagle IP camera systems, Lander seabed survey devices and Subsea electrical connectors and penetrators. It is targeting a number of growth opportunities in new territories and has a strong client base including Expro, Amphenol and National Oilwell Varco. The Company is also focused on the development of new products through this division, with the aim of increased cross-deployment of skills and technologies into the aquaculture arena.
Important Notices
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER OR SALE OF SECURITIES INTO
MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ARE NOT ELIGIBLE TO TAKE PART IN THE PLACING. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS DIRECTED ONLY AT PERSONS WHOSE ORDINARY ACTIVITIES INVOLVE THEM IN ACQUIRING, HOLDING, MANAGING AND DISPOSING OF INVESTMENTS (AS PRINCIPAL OR AGENT) FOR THE PURPOSES OF THEIR BUSINESS AND WHO HAVE PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE IN MATTERS RELATING TO INVESTMENTS AND ARE: (1) IF IN THE
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT AND THE INFORMATION IN IT MUST NOT BE ACTED ON OR RELIED ON BY PERSONS WHO ARE NOT RELEVANT PERSONS. PERSONS DISTRIBUTING THIS ANNOUNCEMENT MUST SATISFY THEMSELVES THAT IT IS LAWFUL TO DO SO. ANY INVESTMENT OR INVESTMENT ACTIVITY TO WHICH THIS ANNOUNCEMENT RELATES IS AVAILABLE ONLY TO RELEVANT PERSONS AND WILL BE ENGAGED IN ONLY WITH RELEVANT PERSONS.
THE CONVERTIBLE LOAN NOTES HAVE NOT BEEN AND WILL NOT BE REGISTERED UNDER THE US SECURITIES ACT OR WITH ANY SECURITIES REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF ANY STATE OR JURISDICTION OF
The content of this announcement has not been approved by an authorised person within the meaning of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, as amended (“FSMA”).
The information in this announcement may not be forwarded or distributed to any other person and may not be reproduced in any manner whatsoever. Any forwarding, distribution, reproduction or disclosure of this information in whole or in part is unauthorised. Failure to comply with this directive may result in a violation of applicable laws of other jurisdictions.
Cautionary statements
This announcement may contain and the Company may make verbal statements containing "forward-looking statements" with respect to certain of the Company's plans and its current goals and expectations relating to its future financial condition, performance, strategic initiatives, objectives and results. Forward-looking statements sometimes use words such as "aim", "anticipate", "target", "expect", "estimate", "intend", "plan", "goal", "believe", "seek", "may", "could", "outlook" or other words of similar meaning. By their nature, all forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to future events and circumstances which are beyond the control of the Company, including amongst other things,
Dowgate Capital Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the
The information contained in this announcement is subject to change without notice and except as required by applicable law or regulation (including to meet the requirements of the AQSE rules, MAR, the
This announcement does not identify or suggest, or purport to identify or suggest, the risks (direct or indirect) that may be associated with an investment in the Convertible Loan Notes. Any investment decisions to buy Convertible Loan Notes in the Placing must be made solely on the basis of publicly available information, which has not been independently verified by Dowgate Capital Limited. Each investor or prospective investor should conduct his, her or its own investigation, analysis and evaluation of the business and data described in this announcement and publicly available information. The price and value of securities can go down as well as up.
Neither the content of the Company's website (or any other website) nor the content of any website accessible from hyperlinks on the Company's website (or any other website) is incorporated into or forms part of this announcement. Dissemination of a Regulatory Announcement, transmitted by EQS Group. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. |
ISIN: | GB00BK6JQ137 |
Category Code: | TST |
TIDM: | OTAQ |
LEI Code: | 213800CZGMYB5XTUXJ52 |
Sequence No.: | 322094 |
EQS News ID: | 1905349 |
End of Announcement | EQS News Service |
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