Result of Oversubscribed Fundraise
Summary by AI BETAClose X
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN IT, IS RESTRICTED AND IS NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN, INTO OR FROM THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN, SOUTH AFRICA OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL. PLEASE SEE THE IMPORTANT NOTICE IN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (EU) 596 / 2014 WHICH FORMS PART OF UK LAW BY VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018 (AS AMENDED) ("MAR").
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Avacta Group plc
("Avacta" or the "Group" or the "Company")
Results of Oversubscribed Placing and Subscription
LONDON and PHILADELPHIA - March 27, 2026 - Avacta Therapeutics (AIM: AVCT, "the Company", "Avacta"), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing pre|CISION®, a tumor-activated oncology delivery platform, is pleased to announce that, further to the Company's announcement on 26 March 2026 (the "Launch Announcement"), the Company has conditionally raised gross proceeds of £10 million through the Placing of 15,000,000 new Ordinary Shares (the "Placing Shares") and Subscription for 873,016 new Ordinary Shares (the "Subscription Shares") by certain Directors of the Company, in each case, both at a price of 63 pence per Ordinary Share (the "Issue Price").
Together, the Placing Shares and the Subscription Shares in aggregate represent approximately 3.60 per cent. of the existing issued ordinary share capital of the Company and the Issue Price represents a discount of approximately 9.35 per cent. to the closing mid-market price of 69.5 pence per Ordinary Share on 25 March 2026, being the last trading day prior to publication of the Launch Announcement. The Placing and Subscription are conditional, inter alia, on Admission occurring and the Placing Agreement not being terminated prior to Admission.
Zeus Capital acted as sole broker and sole bookrunner in connection with the Placing and Subscription.
Capitalized terms used in this announcement but not otherwise defined have the meanings given to them in the Launch Announcement, unless the context provides otherwise.
Director Subscriptions
As described in the Launch Announcement, certain Directors, being Richard Hughes and David Bryant (the "Subscribers"), have subscribed for 873,016 new Ordinary Shares at the Issue Price, representing an aggregate investment of approximately £550,000 pursuant to the Subscription.
|
Director |
Position |
Aggregate Subscription Amount |
Number of Subscription Shares |
Resultant Shareholding |
% of Enlarged Share Capital |
|
Richard Hughes |
Non-Executive Director |
£500,000 |
793,651 |
793,651 |
0.17 |
|
David Bryant |
Non-Executive Director |
£50,000 |
79,365 |
79,365 |
0.02 |
Warrants
As detailed in the Launch Announcement, at the time Zeus Capital was appointed as broker to the Company it was agreed that, on raising £20 million, Zeus Capital would be issued with a warrant to subscribe for 1.0 per cent. of the issued share capital of the Company at the time the warrant is to be issued, at a price to be determined by reference to the price of a future capital raise. Accordingly, having met the fundraising required, the Company has agreed to issue Zeus Capital with warrants over 4,364,457 Ordinary Shares (the "Warrants") representing 0.96 per cent. of the Company's Enlarged Share Capital. The issue of the Warrants is conditional upon Admission becoming effective.
Each Warrant entitles Zeus Capital to subscribe for one new Ordinary Share in the Company at a subscription price of 63 pence per Ordinary Share (being the same as the Issue Price). The Warrants will be exercisable for a period of 5 years, expiring on 7 April 2031 and Zeus Capital may exercise the Warrants (in whole or in part) at any time during this period. Zeus Capital has undertaken not to dispose of any Ordinary Shares issued to it pursuant to the exercise of the Warrant before 7 April 2027, and then only in consultation with the Company. The Warrants were issued under existing authorities granted to the Directors.
Related Party Transactions
Director Participation in the Subscription
The participation of Richard Hughes and David Bryant in the Subscription, each being Non-Executive Directors of the Company, constitutes a related party transaction under Rule 13 of the AIM Rules for Companies.
The independent directors of the Company (being Chris Coughlin, Shaun Chilton, Mark Goldberg, and Paul Fry), having consulted with Strand Hanson, the Company's Nominated Adviser, consider that the Subscribers' participation in the Subscription is fair and reasonable insofar as the Company's shareholders are concerned.
Participation of Zeus Capital in the Placing
Zeus Capital subscribed for 317,476 Ordinary Shares at the Issue Price, for a consideration of £0.2 million (the "Zeus Placing Participation"). Richard Hughes, a Non-Executive Director of the Company, is an associate of Zeus Capital, being a director and majority shareholder of Zeus Capital. Accordingly, Zeus Capital is a related party of the Company, and the Zeus Placing Participation constitutes a related party transaction under Rule 13 of the AIM Rules for Companies.
The independent directors of the Company for the purposes of assessing the Zeus Placing Participation (being Chris Coughlin, Shaun Chilton, Mark Goldberg and Paul Fry), having consulted with Strand Hanson, the Company's Nominated Adviser, consider that Zeus Placing Participation is fair and reasonable insofar as the Company's shareholders are concerned.
Issue of Warrants
The Company has agreed to issue Zeus Capital with warrants over 4,364,457 Ordinary Shares representing 0.96 per cent. of the Company's Enlarged Share Capital. Richard Hughes, a Non-Executive Director of the Company, is an associate of Zeus Capital, as described above. Accordingly, Zeus Capital is a related party of the Company and the issue of the Warrants to Zeus Capital constitutes a related party transaction under Rule 13 of the AIM Rules for Companies.
The independent directors of the Company for the purpose of assessing the Warrants (being Chris Coughlin, Shaun Chilton, Mark Goldberg, David Bryant and Paul Fry), having consulted with Strand Hanson, the Company's Nominated Adviser, consider that the terms of the Warrants are fair and reasonable insofar as the Company's shareholders are concerned.
Admission and total voting rights
Application will be made to the London Stock Exchange for the admission of the Placing Shares and Subscription Shares to trading on AIM ("Admission"). It is expected that Admission will become effective and dealings in such Ordinary Shares will commence at 8.00 a.m. on or around 7 April 2026. The Placing Shares and the Subscription Shares will be issued fully paid and will rank pari passu in all respects with the Company's Existing Ordinary Shares.
Admission is conditional upon, among other things, the Placing Agreement not having been terminated and becoming unconditional in all respects.
Immediately following Admission, the Company's enlarged issued ordinary share capital will be 456,288,511 Ordinary Shares. This figure may be used by holders of Ordinary Shares ("Shareholders") as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the Financial Conduct Authority's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.
-Ends-
For further information from Avacta, please contact:
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Avacta Group plc Christina Coughlin, Chief Executive Officer |
via Cohesion Bureau |
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Strand Hanson Limited (Nominated Adviser) James Harris / Chris Raggett / James Dance
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Zeus (Broker) James Hornigold / Ed Beddows / George Duxberry Benjamin Robertson / Dominic King / Alex Bartram
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Cohesion Bureau Communications / Media / Investors Richard Jarvis
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About Avacta - https://avacta.com/
Avacta Therapeutics is a clinical-stage life sciences company expanding the reach of highly potent cancer therapies through its proprietary pre|CISION® platform. pre|CISION® is a payload delivery system based on a tumor-specific protease (fibroblast activation protein or FAP) that is designed to concentrate highly potent payloads in the tumor microenvironment while sparing normal tissues. Avacta's innovative pre|CISION® peptide drug conjugates (PDCs) leverage this tumor-specific release mechanism to provide unique benefits over traditional antibody drug conjugates, releasing active payload in the tumor and reducing systemic exposure and toxicity and allowing dosing to be optimized to deliver the best outcomes for patients.
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1
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Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities / person closely associated
|
||||||||||
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a)
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Name
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i- Richard Hughes ii- David Bryant |
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2
|
Reason for the notification
|
||||||||||
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a)
|
Position/status
|
I- Non-Executive Director II- Non-Executive Director
|
|||||||||
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b)
|
Initial notification /Amendment
|
Initial notification |
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3
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Details of the issuer, emission allowance market participant, auction platform, auctioneer or auction monitor
|
||||||||||
|
a)
|
Name
|
Avacta Group Plc |
|||||||||
|
b)
|
LEI
|
2138009U3EG31OPMGH36 |
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4
|
Details of the transaction(s): section to be repeated for (i) each type of instrument; (ii) each type of transaction; (iii) each date; and (iv) each place where transactions have been conducted
|
||||||||||
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a)
|
Description of the financial instrument, type of instrument
Identification code
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Ordinary Shares of 10p each in the Company
GB00BYYW9G87 |
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b)
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Nature of the transaction
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Subscription for Ordinary Shares |
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c)
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Price(s) and volume(s)
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Purchase of shares:
|
|||||||||
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d)
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Aggregated information
- Aggregated volume
- Price
- Total Value
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873,016
63p
£550,000 |
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e)
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Date of the transaction
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27 March 2026 |
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f)
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Place of the transaction
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LSE, AIM Market
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