Evogene Announces Pricing of US$5.5 Million Registered Direct Offering and Concurrent Private Placement

Rhea-AI Summary

Evogene (Nasdaq: EVGN, TASE: EVGN) has announced a US$5.5 million registered direct offering and concurrent private placement. The company will sell 1,692,308 ordinary shares (or equivalents) at $3.25 per share, along with unregistered Series A and B warrants to purchase additional shares. The Series A warrants have a 5-year expiration and the Series B warrants expire in 18 months, both with an exercise price of $3.55. The offering is expected to close around August 26, 2024. A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners is acting as the sole placement agent. Evogene plans to use the net proceeds for working capital and general corporate purposes.

Insights

Financial Analyst

Evogene's $5.5 million registered direct offering and concurrent private placement is a strategic move to bolster its financial position. The pricing at $3.25 per unit, including warrants, represents a significant discount to the current market price, potentially diluting existing shareholders. The immediate exercisability of warrants could lead to further dilution if exercised.

The company's decision to raise capital through this method suggests possible challenges in securing traditional financing. While the infusion of working capital is positive for short-term operations, the terms of the deal may indicate investor caution about Evogene's near-term prospects. Investors should closely monitor how effectively management deploys this capital to drive growth and achieve milestones in their computational biology initiatives.

Biotech Industry Expert

This capital raise highlights the ongoing financial needs of biotech companies in the computational biology space. Evogene's focus on leveraging cutting-edge technologies across multiple market segments positions it at the forefront of life-science product discovery. However, the need for additional funding underscores the capital-intensive nature of this field.

The involvement of a single healthcare-focused institutional investor is intriguing, potentially signaling confidence in Evogene's technology platform. This deal structure, with both immediate and longer-term warrants, provides the investor with significant upside potential if Evogene's initiatives succeed. For the company, this could translate into valuable partnerships or future financing opportunities if they can demonstrate progress with this capital infusion.

Market Strategist

The timing and structure of this offering reveal important market dynamics. With an exercise price of $3.55 for both warrant series, there's an implied upside expectation of at least 9.2% from the offering price. The 18-month expiry on Series B warrants suggests a shorter-term catalyst may be anticipated.

However, the need for this financing and its terms indicate possible market skepticism about Evogene's immediate prospects. The company must now balance the dilutive effects with demonstrating clear value creation from this capital. Investors should watch for upcoming milestones or partnerships that could validate Evogene's technology and potentially trigger warrant exercises, which would provide additional non-dilutive capital.

REHOVOT, Israel, Aug. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Evogene Ltd. ("Evogene" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: EVGN, TASE: EVGN), a leading computational biology company aiming to revolutionize life-science-based product discovery and development utilizing cutting-edge computational biology technologies across multiple market segments, announced today that it has entered into definitive agreements with a single health-care focused institutional investor for the purchase and sale of 1,692,308 ordinary shares (or ordinary share equivalents in lieu thereof) in a registered direct offering. In a concurrent private placement, the Company also agreed to issue unregistered Series A ordinary warrants to purchase up to 1,692,308 ordinary shares, and unregistered Series B ordinary warrants to purchase up to 1,692,308 ordinary shares. Each ordinary share (or ordinary share equivalent in lieu thereof) is being sold with one Series A ordinary warrant to purchase one ordinary share and one Series B ordinary warrant to purchase one ordinary share at a combined purchase price of US$3.25 (the "Offering"). The Series A ordinary warrants will have an exercise price of US$3.55 per share, will be immediately exercisable upon issuance and will expire five years from issuance. The Series B ordinary warrants will have an exercise price of US$3.55 per share, will be immediately exercisable upon issuance and will expire eighteen months from issuance.

The closing of the Offering is expected to occur on or about August 26, 2024, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. The gross proceeds from the Offering are expected to be approximately US$5.5 million before deducting placement agent fees and other offering expenses. The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering for working capital and general corporate purposes.

A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners is acting as sole placement agent for the Offering.

The registered direct offering of the ordinary shares and ordinary share equivalents in lieu thereof will be issued in a registered direct offering pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement on Form F-3 (File No. 333-277565) previously filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and was declared effective by the SEC on March 28, 2024. The Series A and Series B ordinary warrants will be issued in a concurrent private placement. A prospectus supplement describing the terms of the proposed registered direct offering will be filed with the SEC and once filed, will be available on the SEC's website located at http://www.sec.gov. Electronic copies of the prospectus supplement may be obtained, when available, from A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners, 590 Madison Avenue, 28th Floor, New York, NY 10022, or by telephone at (212) 624-2060, or by email at prospectus@allianceg.com.

The private placement of the Series A and Series B ordinary warrants and the underlying ordinary shares will be made in reliance on an exemption from registration under Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act and/or Regulation D thereunder. Accordingly, the securities issued in the concurrent private placement may not be offered or sold in the United States except pursuant to an effective registration statement or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act and such applicable state securities laws

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

About Evogene Ltd.

Evogene Ltd. (Nasdaq: EVGN, TASE: EVGN) is a computational biology company leveraging big data and artificial intelligence, aiming to revolutionize the development of life-science-based products by utilizing cutting-edge technologies to increase the probability of success while reducing development time and cost.

Evogene established three unique tech-engines - MicroBoost AI, ChemPass AI and GeneRator AI. Each tech-engine is focused on the discovery and development of products based on one of the following core components: microbes (MicroBoost AI), small molecules (ChemPass AI), and genetic elements (GeneRator AI).

Evogene uses its tech-engines to develop products through strategic partnerships and collaborations, and its five subsidiaries including:

1.  Biomica Ltd. (www.biomicamed.com) developing and advancing novel microbiome-based therapeutics to treat human disorders powered by MicroBoost AI;

2.  Lavie Bio Ltd. (www.lavie-bio.com) - developing and commercially advancing, microbiome based ag-biologicals powered by MicroBoost AI;

3.  AgPlenus Ltd. (www.agplenus.com) -developing next generation ag chemicals for effective and sustainable crop protection powered by ChemPass AI;

4.  Casterra Ag Ltd. (www.casterra.co)– developing and marketing superior castor seed varieties producing high yield and high-grade oil content, on an industrial scale for the biofuel and other industries powered by GeneRator AI.

For more information, please visit www.evogene.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" relating to future events. These statements may be identified by words such as "may", "could", "expects", "intends", "anticipates", "plans", "believes", "scheduled", "estimates", or words of similar meaning. For example, Evogene is using forward-looking statement in this press release when it discusses the intended use of proceeds and closing of the offering. Such statements are based on current expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions, describe opinions about future events, and involve certain risks and uncertainties which are difficult to predict and are not guarantees of future performance. Therefore, actual future results, performance or achievements of Evogene and its subsidiaries may differ materially from what is expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, many of which are beyond the control of Evogene and its subsidiaries, including, without limitation, the current war between Israel and each of Hamas and Hezbollah, the possibility of escalation to a wider regional war, and any worsening of the situation in Israel such as further mobilizations or escalation in the northern border of Israel, and  those risk factors contained in Evogene's reports filed with the applicable securities authorities. In addition, Evogene and its subsidiaries rely, and expect to continue to rely, on third parties to conduct certain activities, such as their field-trials and pre-clinical studies, and if these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties, comply with regulatory requirements or meet expected deadlines, Evogene and its subsidiaries may experience significant delays in the conduct of their activities. Evogene and its subsidiaries disclaim any obligation or commitment to update these forward-looking statements to reflect future events or developments or changes in expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions.

Evogene Investors' Contact:
Rachel Pomerantz Gerber, Head of Investor Relations at Evogene
Email: rachel.pomerantz@evogene.com
Tel: +972-8-9311901

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SOURCE Evogene

FAQ

What is the size of Evogene's (EVGN) recent offering?

Evogene (EVGN) announced a US$5.5 million registered direct offering and concurrent private placement.

What is the price per share for Evogene's (EVGN) offering on August 23, 2024?

The combined purchase price for one ordinary share (or equivalent) and associated warrants is US$3.25.

When is the expected closing date for Evogene's (EVGN) offering?

The offering is expected to close on or about August 26, 2024, subject to customary closing conditions.

What are the terms of the warrants issued in Evogene's (EVGN) offering?

Evogene (EVGN) is issuing Series A warrants with a 5-year expiration and Series B warrants with an 18-month expiration, both with an exercise price of US$3.55 per share.