Nicox Amends Bond Financing Agreement with Kreos to Provide Financial Flexibility in 2021
January 29, 2021
Sophia Antipolis, France
Nicox SA (Euronext Paris: FR0013018124, COX), an international ophthalmology company, today announced that it has amended its bond financing agreement with Kreos Capital, introducing an additional one-year period of interest-only payments on the outstanding principal starting on February 1, 2021, and an extension of the overall period of the loan by 6 months to July 2024. The new one-year interest-only period is expected to provide approximately €5.5 million of additional flexibility for investment in development activities in 2021. The interest rate of the bonds remains unchanged as a result of this amendment. Nicox has granted Kreos Capital 100,000 warrants for 100,000 Nicox shares, equivalent to approximately 0.27% of the present outstanding capital of the Company.
Michele Garufi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Nicox, said: “Amending this bond financing agreement with Kreos Capital provides Nicox with greater financial flexibility for our exciting advanced development stage product candidates. We are now recruiting in four late-stage clinical trials, one of which is conducted by our Chinese partner Ocumension. These programs are expected to reach significant milestones in the next 12 to 18 months, including top-line clinical data on our two major assets, NCX 470 and NCX 4251.”
As of February 1, 2021, the outstanding capital under the bond financing agreement with Kreos Capital signed in January 2019 shall be €16.1 million. Under the amendment announced today, the repayment of the outstanding principal will restart on February 1, 2022, and will be completely repaid by July 2024. Full details of the bond agreement can be found in the press releases of January 25, 2019 – http://www.nicox.com/assets/files/EN-_Kreos-PR_201901.pdf and October 10, 2019 – https://www.nicox.com/assets/files/EN_KreosAmendment2_PR_20191010.pdf.
Nicox also has €2 million of debt in the form of a credit agreement with Société Générale and LCL, guaranteed by the French State, and granted in August 2020 in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Warrant Terms
Kreos received 100,000 warrants, each giving a right to subscribe one share in Nicox at an exercise price of € 4.23 set in accordance with the 7th resolution of the Extraordinary Shareholder Meeting of June 30, 2020. The warrants are exercisable immediately and over a 5-year period. No specific restriction applies to the exercise of the warrants. The shares obtained by exercise of the warrants will be ordinary shares of Nicox listed on Euronext Paris.
The exercise of the warrants would not materially dilute existing shareholders.