Roquefort Investments PLC Reverse Takeover & Suspension of Trading (3507N)
September 29 2021 - 2:34AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMROQ
RNS Number : 3507N
Roquefort Investments PLC
29 September 2021
29 September 2021
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION AS STIPULATED
UNDER THE UK VERSION OF THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION NO 596/2014
WHICH IS PART OF ENGLISH LAW BY VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN (WITHDRAWAL)
ACT 2018, AS AMENDED. UPON THE PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT VIA
REGULATORY INFORMATION SERVICE, THIS INSIDE INFORMATION IS NOW
CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.
Roquefort Investments plc
("Roquefort Investments" or the "Company")
Reverse Takeover Transaction and Suspension of Trading
Conditional Acquisition of Lyramid Limited
Roquefort Investments ( LSE:ROQ ), the investment company
established to acquire businesses focused on early-stage
opportunities in the medical biotechnology sector , is pleased to
announce that the Company has entered into a non-binding term sheet
(the "Term Sheet") with Provelmare Holding S.A. ("Provelmare")
pursuant to which Roquefort Investments will acquire 100% of the
total issued equity in Lyramid Limited ("Lyramid") for an initial
consideration of GBP1 million payable 50% in cash and 50% in shares
(the "Transaction"). Lyramid has the exclusive worldwide licence to
commercialise up to 37 patents related to Midkine-based therapies
for the treatment of COVID-19 patients, cancer, autoimmune
disorders and chronic kidney disease ("Midkine-Based
Therapies").
The Directors of Roquefort Investments consider the Transaction
to represent a transformational, value enhancing transaction for
shareholders, which is fully aligned with the Company's growth
strategy. Lyramid's global patent portfolio for Midkine-Based
Therapies provides a platform to develop first-in-class drugs for
the treatment of severe inflammatory diseases, autoimmune disorders
and cancer. The therapeutic potential of Midkine-Based Therapies
has been validated during more than 10 years of research including
collaborations with leading academic centres and clinicians
resulting in over 900 scientific publications.
To fund the Transaction, Roquefort Investments will be seeking
to carry out a placing of new ordinary shares to new and existing
investors ("Placing") to raise funds of up to GBP3 million to
finance the cash component of the consideration, pre-clinical drug
development and working capital. As such, the Transaction is
conditional, inter alia, on a successful Placing.
Should the Transaction complete, it would constitute a Reverse
Take-Over ("RTO") under the Listing Rules and accordingly the
Company would apply for the re-admission of its shares to the
Official List and the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange.
Where an RTO is contemplated but has not yet been completed, the
FCA will normally suspend a company's listing pending the
publication of a prospectus prepared in accordance with the
prospectus regulation rules of the FCA and approved by the FCA, or
an announcement that the Transaction is not proceeding.
Therefore, at the request of the Company, the FCA has suspended
the Company's listing on the standard segment of the Official List
as of 7.30am today. Trading on the Main Market of the London Stock
Exchange has also been suspended as of 7.30am today.
There can be no certainty that the Transaction will proceed and
it remains subject to, amongst other things, entering into a
definitive legal agreement and obtaining all other necessary
approvals (if required).
A further announcement will be made in due course.
o
Stephen West, Executive Chairman, commented:
"We are delighted to have agreed this potentially transformative
transaction to acquire 100% of the issued share capital of Lyramid,
which reflects our stated strategy perfectly. The respective teams
at Roquefort Investments and Lyramid believe the Midkine global
patent portfolio has significant unrealised value that can be
unlocked through pre-clinical drug development utilising
oligonucleotide drugs. Due to recent progress in oligonucleotide
drug development (for example, mRNA used in Pfizer and Moderna
COVID-19 vaccines) there is an opportunity to progress the
pre-clinical drug development stage rapidly and at a significantly
lower cost than historical traditional methods. We look forward to
updating the market in due course."
Enquiries:
Roquefort Investments plc
+44 (0)20 3290
Stephen West (Chairman) 9339
Optiva Securities Limited (Joint
Broker)
+44 (0) 20 3411
Christian Dennis 1881
For further information, please visit www.roquefortinvest.com
and @roquefortinvest on Twitter.
LEI: 254900P4SISIWOR9RH34
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