Placing and Notice of General Meeting

RNS Number : 7617Y

Evgen Pharma PLC

08 December 2017

 

For immediate release	8 December 2017

 

 

Evgen Pharma plc

 ("Evgen Pharma" or "the Company")

Placing to raise £2.3 million

Notice of General Meeting

Evgen Pharma (AIM: EVG), a clinical stage drug development company focused on the treatment of cancer and neurological conditions, is pleased to announce it has conditionally raised £2.3 million (before expenses) via a placing of 19,166,667 new ordinary shares of 0.25p each ("Placing Shares") in the Company at a price of 12p per ordinary share (the "Placing"). 

The net proceeds of the Placing will be used principally to progress the Company's two current Phase II trials in subarachnoid haemorrhage and metastatic breast cancer and for working capital purposes. The net proceeds of the Placing may also be used to support pre-clinical work in additional indications.   

Commenting on the Placing, Steve Franklin, CEO of Evgen Pharma, said:

"We are delighted to have raised these additional funds from new and existing shareholders. As we highlight in our half year report, released earlier today, we are making exciting progress in our two Phase II clinical trials and will be reporting data next year. The additional funds will provide valuable working capital as we drive forward our pioneering work in sulforaphane-based therapeutics."

Details of the Placing

The existing authority granted by shareholders to the Directors to allot shares for cash is insufficient to allow the issue of all of the Placing Shares.  Therefore the Placing is conditional, inter alia, on the passing of resolutions at a General Meeting of the Company to be held on 28 December 2017.

An application will be made for the Placing Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM which is expected to occur at 8.00 a.m. on 29 December 2017.     

Various Directors of the Company are participating in the Placing as follows:

Director	Number of Placing Shares
Barry Clare, Non-Executive Chairman	83,333
Steve Franklin, Chief Executive Officer	41,667
Richard Moulson, Chief Financial Officer	41,667

Notice of General Meeting

A circular (the "Circular"), containing information in relation to the Placing and convening the General Meeting to be held at The Colony, Altrincham Road, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 4LY, at 10.00 a.m. on 28 December 2017, will be sent to shareholders today.  The Circular will also be posted on the Company's website, www.evgen.com, in due course.

Total Voting Rights

Following Admission the Company's issued share capital will comprise 93,276,858 ordinary shares with voting rights.  The figure of 93,276,858 ordinary shares may therefore be used by shareholders in the Company as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change in their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the FCA's Disclosure and Transparency Rules. 

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014.   Market soundings, as defined in MAR, were taken in respect of the proposed fundraise with the result that certain persons became aware of inside information, as permitted by MAR.  That inside information is set out in this announcement and 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.

Enquiries:

Evgen Pharma plc Dr Stephen Franklin, CEO Richard Moulson, CFO www.evgen.com	c/o [phone]
Buchanan Mark Court, Sophie Wills, Stephanie Watson		[phone]
Northland Capital Partners Limited Matthew Johnson, Gerry Beaney (Corporate Finance) John Howes, Rob Rees (Corporate Broking)		[phone]

Notes for editors:

About Evgen Pharma plc

Evgen Pharma is a clinical stage drug development company whose lead programmes are in breast cancer and subarachnoid haemorrhage, a type of stroke. The Company's core technology is Sulforadex®, a method for synthesising and stabilising the naturally occurring compound sulforaphane and novel proprietary analogues based on sulforaphane.  The lead product, SFX-01, is a patented composition of synthetic sulforaphane and alpha-cyclodextrin. 

Evgen Pharma commenced operations in January 2008 and has its headquarters at The Colony, Wilmslow, Cheshire, and its registered office is at the Liverpool Science Park, Liverpool.  It joined the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in October 2015 and trades under the ticker symbol EVG. 

For further information, please visit: www.evgen.com

For commissioned research on the Company, please visit: http://evgen.com/investors/analyst-coverage/

 

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