Evolva Holding SA, which is active in discovery and development of novel medicines and nutritional ingredients through synthetic biology, announced today that it has entered into a Standby Equity Distribution Agreement (SEDA) with YA Global Master SPV Ltd. (YA Global). Under the terms of the agreement, YA Global has committed to provide up to CHF 30 million in equity financing over a 36 month period in individual advances of up to CHF 600,000 with an initial advance of CHF 500,000. In exchange for the funds to be provided, YA Global will receive Evolva shares. It remains at the sole discretion of Evolva to determine when to draw the advances.
The SEDA has been established as part of the medium-term funding of Evolva’s operations. As outlined in Evolva’s previous guidance, the company is funded through year-end 2012. If Evolva were to utilise the SEDA in full, the cash runway would be extended by at least one year.
In return for the 3-year investment commitment provided by YA Global, Evolva will pay an upfront commitment fee of CHF 600,000 (2% of the commitment) to be paid in newly issued Evolva shares. At the moment of signing of the agreement, Evolva will request a first advance of CHF 500,000. Evolva has created 8m treasury shares out of authorised capital which may be used for the initial and several future share issues under the SEDA agreement.
At the current share price (CHF 0.91), a CHF 400,000 advance would represent approx. 440,000 shares and the total commitment represents a maximum of approximately 33 million shares. At the date of this release, the number of Evolva shares in issue is 164.7 million.
Jakob Dynnes Hansen, CFO of Evolva, commented, “The SEDA gives us access to a significant pool of funds. It gives us flexibility to tailor the funding to our needs. This is an attractive instrument with a reasonable pricing, limiting dilution for our current shareholders. It is great to be supported by Yorkville’s innovative team.”
Dr. Michael J. Nowak, Managing Director at Yorkville Advisors, LLC, the investment advisor to YA Global, added, “Evolva is working on the cutting edge of science on the border line between pharma and nutrition. We think this is a very dynamic and attractive space and we're excited to be investing in Evolva and working with their experienced and accomplished management team.”
