COSMO PHARMACEUTICALS N.V. Cosmo Pharmaceuticals increases its stake in Acacia Pharma to 18.53%
Dublin - June 1, 2020 - Cosmo Pharmaceuticals N.V. (SIX: COPN) today announced an amendment to the terms of its loan agreement with Acacia Pharma Group plc ("Acacia") (EURONEXT: ACPH). Under the terms of the amendment, the €10 million loan facility provided by Cosmo to Acacia in January 2020, which was available for drawdown by Acacia following the approval of BARHEMSYS® by the FDA in February 2,020, is terminated and replaced with a €10 million equity investment at a price of €3.112 per share which represents a 4.1% premium to the Acacia Pharma closing share price on 29 May 2020 and equates to 3,213,769 Acacia ordinary shares to be issued to Cosmo. In addition, a further 367,893 shares are being issued to Cosmo (at an equity subscription price of €2.99 per share) in satisfaction of a €1,100,000 break fee payable under the terms of the loan amendment. The €25 million loan facility which will be made available by Cosmo to Acacia on the approval of Byfavo™ has not been affected by this transaction.
Following the transaction, Cosmo's stake in Acacia will increase to 18.53% with Cosmo holding 12,576,329 Acacia ordinary shares acquired at an average cost of €2.47 per share.
In January 2020, Cosmo sublicensed its Byfavo™ U.S. rights to Acacia for a €10 million upfront payment in Acacia shares and made a €10 million investment in the company acquiring in total 8,994,667 Acacia ordinary shares representing a 14.08% stake in the company. When the inital stake in Acacia was acquired, Cosmo also provided financing to fund Acacia's U.S. expansion by way of €35m in loan facilities of which €10 million was available for drawdown upon approval of BARHEMSYS®. A further €25 million can be drawn upon approval of Byfavo™ which has a PDUFA date of 5 July 2020. Under the terms of the sub-license agreement, Cosmo will receive a further €20 million in Acacia ordinary shares upon approval and first commercial sale of Byfavo™ plus an additional US$ 105 million in commercial milestones.
Alessandro Della Chà, Chief Executive Officer of Cosmo, said: "We strongly believe that Acacia has the potential of become a leading player in its field. In order to do so the company must be well financed. By moving from debt to equity we contribute towards the strengthening of Acacia's financial structure and will now have an equity stake of 18.5% in the company."
Mike Bolinder, Chief Executive Office of Acacia Pharma said: "We greatly appreciate the flexibility and strong show of support from our strategic partner, Cosmo Pharmaceuticals, which strengthens our balance sheet as we prepare to begin commercialization later this year."
About Cosmo Pharmaceuticals
Cosmo is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercialising products to treat selected gastrointestinal disorders and improve endoscopy quality measures through aiding the detection of colonic lesions. Cosmo has also developed medical devices for endoscopy and has recently entered into a partnership with Medtronic for the global distribution of GI Genius™ its artificial intelligence device for use in coloscopies and GI procedures. Cosmo has licensed Aemcolo™ to Red Hill Biopharma and is the licensee of Byfavo™(remimazolam) for the U.S. for procedural sedation, which it has sub-licensed to Acacia. For additional information on Cosmo and its products please visit the Company's website: www.cosmopharma.com
Financial calendar
Jefferies Virtual Healthcare Conference | June 2-4, 2020 |
2020 Half-Year Results | July 30, 2020 |
Contact
Niall Donnelly, CFO & Head of Investor Relations
Cosmo Pharmaceuticals N.V.
Tel: +353 1 817 03 70
ndonnelly@cosmopharma.com
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