Vertical Enters Into Investment Agreement With Founder and CEO, Stephen Fitzpatrick Committing to Provide up to $50 Million of Funding
February 22 2024 - 5:43PM
Business Wire
Vertical Aerospace (Vertical) [NYSE: EVTL], a global aerospace
and technology company that is pioneering zero emissions aviation,
entered into an investment agreement with its founder, majority
shareholder and Chief Executive Officer, Stephen Fitzpatrick, in
respect of a commitment by Mr. Fitzpatrick to provide up to $50
million of funding to the company in the form of an equity
investment. This follows the January 21, 2024 previously announced
legally binding termsheet agreement relating to the committed
funding.
As part of the commitment, Vertical is obligated to call an
extraordinary general meeting of the shareholders of the company
(the “EGM”) to vote on the adoption of certain amendments to its
amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.
Vertical has furnished a circular to its shareholders, providing
notice of the EGM, which will be a physical-only meeting taking
place at 09:30 GMT on March 13, 2024, at the offices of the
Company: 4th Floor, United House, 9 Pembridge Road, London W11 3JY,
United Kingdom – including a letter and a form of proxy card in
connection with the proposals sought to be adopted by the EGM.
About Vertical Aerospace
Vertical Aerospace (NYSE: EVTL) is pioneering electric aviation.
The Company was founded in 2016 by Stephen Fitzpatrick, an
established entrepreneur best known as the founder of the OVO
Group, a leading energy and technology group and Europe’s largest
independent energy retailer. Vertical has focused on building the
most experienced and senior team in the eVTOL industry, who have
previously certified and supported over 30 different civil and
military aircraft and propulsion systems.
Vertical received its Design Organisation Approval in 2023
underlining the UK Civil Aviation Authority’s confidence in
Vertical’s capability to design a safe and reliable aircraft and
aviation-related products to the highest standards.
Vertical’s top-tier partner ecosystem, including Honeywell
Aerospace, Leonardo, Hanwha, Dassault Systèmes, Molicel, and GKN
Aerospace, is expected to de-risk operational execution and its
pathway to certification allowing for a lean cost structure and
enabling production at scale. Vertical has a leading pre-order book
from a diverse global customer base, creating multiple potential
near term and actionable routes to market. Customers include
airlines, aircraft lessors, helicopter operators, mobility firms
and tourism groups, including American Airlines, Virgin Atlantic,
Avolon, Bristow, Marubeni, Kakao Mobility, Iberojet and
FLYINGGROUP, as well as Japan Airlines (JAL), Gol, Air Greenland,
Gozen Holding and AirAsia, through Avolon’s VX4 placements.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995 that relate to our current expectations and views of future
events. We intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by
the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements as
contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of
the Exchange Act. Any express or implied statements contained in
this press release that are not statements of historical fact may
be deemed to be forward-looking statements, including, without
limitation, statements regarding completion of the committed
funding from Company’s founder, majority owner, and CEO, the
scheduled extraordinary general meeting of the shareholders of the
Company, the certification and the commercialization of the VX4 and
our ability to achieve regulatory certification of our aircraft
product on any particular timeline or at all, expectations
surrounding pre-orders and commitments, the Company’s partner
ecosystem and the expectation to de-risk operational execution and
allow for a lean cost structure and enable production at scale, as
well as statements that include the words “expect,” “intend,”
“plan,” “believe,” “project,” “forecast,” “estimate,” “may,”
“should,” “anticipate,” “will,” “aim,” “potential,” “continue,”
“are likely to” and similar statements of a future or
forward-looking nature. Forward-looking statements are neither
promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those projected, including, without limitation: our limited
operating history without manufactured non-prototype aircraft or
completed eVTOL aircraft customer order; our history of losses and
the expectation to incur significant expenses and continuing losses
for the foreseeable future; the market for eVTOL aircraft being in
a relatively early stage; our potential inability to produce,
certify or launch aircraft in the volumes or timelines projected;
the potential inability to obtain the necessary certifications for
production and operation within any projected timeline, or at all;
any accidents or incidents involving eVTOL aircraft could harm our
business; our dependence on partners and suppliers for the
components in our aircraft and for operational needs; the potential
that certain strategic partnerships may not materialize into
long-term partnership arrangements; all of the pre-orders received
are conditional and may be terminated at any time and any
pre-delivery payments may be fully refundable upon certain
specified dates; any circumstances; the inability for our aircraft
to perform at the level we expect and may have potential defects;
any potential failure to effectively manage our growth; our
inability to recruit and retain senior management and other highly
skilled personnel, our ability to raise additional funds when we
need or want them, or at all, to fund our operations; our limited
cash and cash equivalents and recurring losses from our operations
raise significant doubt (or raise substantial doubt as contemplated
by PCAOB standards) regarding our ability to continue as a going
concern; we have previous identified material weaknesses in our
internal controls over financial reporting which if we fail to
properly remediate, could adversely affect our results of
operations, investor confidence in us and the market price of our
ordinary shares; as a foreign private issuer we follow certain home
country corporate governance rules, are not subject to U.S. proxy
rules and are subject to Exchange Act reporting obligations that,
to some extent, are more lenient and less frequent than those of a
U.S. domestic public company; and the other important factors
discussed under the caption “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on
Form 20-F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
(“SEC”) on March 22, 2023, as such factors may be updated from time
to time in our other filings with the SEC. Any forward-looking
statements contained in this press release speak only as of the
date hereof and accordingly undue reliance should not be placed on
such statements. We disclaim any obligation or undertaking to
update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this
press release, whether as a result of new information, future
events or otherwise, other than to the extent required by
applicable law.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240222347345/en/
Vertical Aerospace Lyle Hill
vertical@fleetwoodstrategy.com +44 791 996 5716
Vertical Investors Eduardo Royes
investors@vertical-aerospace.com +1 646 200 8871
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