Ensurge Micropower ASA – Business Update and contemplated Private
Placement
NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN
WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO AUSTRALIA,
CANADA, HONG KONG, JAPAN OR THE UNITED STATES OR ANY OTHER
JURISDICTION IN WHICH THE RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION
WOULD BE UNLAWFUL. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER
OF ANY OF THE SECURITIES DESCRIBED HEREIN.
Oslo, Norway, 20 January 2025 – Ensurge
Micropower ASA (“Ensurge” or the “Company”) (OSE: ENSU, and OTCQB:
ENMPY) has made significant advancements in developing and
producing the solid-state microbatteries.
Key Progress and Achievements
-
Encapsulation: Ensurge has resolved the encapsulation
issues of the battery stack through process optimization and
material selection.
-
Battery performance: Ensurge is validating improvements
to address leakage-related yield loss that will ensure high
performance and reliability.
-
High Production Yield: Ensurge has achieved 90%
stacking yield after cell test for both 11- and 28-layer batteries,
and is therefore confident in both repeatability and
scalability.
-
Validated Battery Quality: The batteries meet – and
even exceed - the stringent requirements for quality, durability,
and scalability.
-
Factory Capacity: By the end of January 2025, Ensurge
will increase manning on the production line in San Jose to 24
hours/7 days a week coverage (24/7). These important achievements
demonstrate Ensurge’s readiness to scale production and deliver
batteries to the market.
Ensurge has made strong progress through 2024
and the beginning of 2025, with a significant shift in momentum in
the second half of the year. Due to increased manning and
production capacity, Ensurge was able to move at an accelerated
pace in identifying defects, suggesting and implementing fixes and
moving on to the next challenge.
Management has maintained ongoing contact with
numerous potential customers and partners who have expressed their
interest and are now excited to take the commercial discussions to
the next phase. Moving forward, the focus will be on defining the
batteries' features to ensure the customer receives a
"game-changing" product tailored to its needs.
“We are excited to work closely with our
strategic partners and customers to reach final delivery agreements
for the Ensurge battery. Ensurge remains dedicated to delivering
solid-state microbatteries that meet or exceed customer
expectations, offering unmatched energy density, reliability, and
scalability. This commitment, combined with our recent
technological breakthroughs, positions Ensurge as a leader in the
solid-state battery market” said Lars Eikeland, Ensurge's CEO.
To ensure that all technical and
production-related improvements are fully validated, the Company is
now focusing on producing a statistically significant number of
batteries over the next few weeks. This is essential to confirm to
the Company’s partners that the batteries consistently meet the
highest standards of quality and performance.
Once this validation process is complete, the
Company will start shipping 11-layer and 28-layer batteries to
customers and strategic partners in accordance with evaluation
agreements between the parties. The Company will also proceed with
the development and production of 43-layer batteries, with
shipments to follow in due course.
As a matter of financial update, the Company’s
cash holding as per 31 December 2024 is USD 3,383,779, of which USD
1,606,256 is restricted.
Contemplated Private Placement
The Company has engaged Arctic Securities AS
(the "Manager") to advise on and effect a contemplated private
placement in the Company of 35,000,000 - 50,000,000 new shares in
the Company (the "New Shares”) raising gross proceeds of NOK 35-50
million (the “Private Placement”).
The subscription price per New Share will be NOK
1.00 (the "Offer Price").
DNB Asset Management has committed to subscribe
for and will be allocated New Shares in the Private Placement for a
total amount of NOK 7 million.
In addition, the board of directors (the
“Board”) will propose that all investors in the Private Placement
are granted one (1) warrant (Nw.: frittstående tegningsrett)
for every two (2) New Shares allocated to them in the Private
Placement (the “Warrants”). The Warrant is transferable but will
not be admitted to trading on Oslo Børs. Each Warrant will be free
of charge and give the right to subscribe for one new share in the
Company at the same exercise price as the Offer Price. The Warrants
may be exercised from 26 September 2025 at 09:00 (CEST) to 10
October 2025 at 16:30 (CEST) (the “Exercise Period”). Following
expiry of the Exercise Period, all Warrants not exercised will
lapse without compensation. Completion of the Private Placement
through delivery of the New Shares is not conditional upon the
Warrants being issued and subscription of the New Shares will
remain final and binding and cannot be revoked, cancelled or
terminated by applicants if the Warrants are not issued. Issuance
of the Warrants are subject to approval by the Company’s general
meeting, where an extraordinary general meeting is expected to be
held on or about 11 February 2025 (the “EGM”).
The net proceeds from the Private Placement will
be used to i) fund the Company's operations, and ii) general
corporate purposes.
The application period for the Private Placement
will commence on 20 January 2025 at 16:30 (CET) and is expected to
close on 21 January 2025 at 08:00 (CET) (the "Application Period").
The Company, in consultation with the Manager, reserves the right
to at any time and in its sole discretion resolve to close or
extend the Application Period or to cancel the Private Placement in
its entirety without further notice. If the Application Period is
shortened or extended, any other dates referred to herein may be
amended accordingly.
The final number of New Shares will be
determined at the end of the Application Period, and the final
allocation will be made at the sole discretion of the Board after
consulting with the Manager. The allocation of New Shares will be
based on criteria such as (but not limited to) existing
ownership in the Company, timelines of the application, relative
order size, sector knowledge, investment history, perceived
investor quality and investment horizon. The Board may, at its sole
discretion, reject and/or reduce any applications. There is no
guarantee that any applicant will be allocated New Shares.
Notification of allotment and payment instructions is expected to
be issued to the applicants on or about 21 January 2025 through a
notification to be issued by the Manager.
The Private Placement will be settled with
existing and unencumbered shares in the Company that are already
listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange, pursuant to a share lending
agreement expected to be entered into between the Company, the
Manager and certain existing shareholders (the "Share Lending
Agreement"). The Share Lending Agreement will be settled with new
shares in the Company to be resolved issued by the Board pursuant
to an authorization by the Company's general meeting held on 14
October 2024 (the "Authorization"). Settlement of the Private
Placement is expected to take place on a delivery versus payment
basis on or about 23 January 2025.
The Private Placement will be directed towards
Norwegian and international investors, subject to applicable
exemptions from relevant registration, filing and prospectus
requirements, and subject to other applicable selling restrictions.
The minimum application and allocation amount has been set to the
NOK equivalent of EUR 100,000. The Company may however, at its sole
discretion, allocate amounts below EUR 100,000 to the extent
exemptions from the prospectus requirements in accordance with
applicable regulations, including the Norwegian Securities Trading
Act and ancillary regulations, are available.
The Board has considered the contemplated
Private Placement in light of the equal treatment obligations under
the Norwegian Securities Trading Act and Oslo Børs' Circular no.
2/2014 and deems that the proposed Private Placement would be in
compliance with these requirements. The Board holds the view that
it will be in the common interest of the Company and its
shareholders to raise equity through a private placement, in view
of the current market conditions and the growth opportunities
currently available to the Company. A private placement enables the
Company to raise capital in an efficient manner, and the Private
Placement is structured to ensure that a market-based subscription
price is achieved. In order to limit the dilutive effect of the
Private Placement and to facilitate equal treatment, the Board will
consider carrying out a subsequent offering directed towards
shareholders who did not participate in the Private Placement (see
details below).
The Subsequent Offering
Subject to among other things (including among others (i)
approval by the Board and the general meeting of the Company, (ii)
the prevailing market price of the Company's shares being higher
than the Offer Price and (iii) approval and publication of a
prospectus (if relevant), propose to carry out a subsequent
offering of new shares and warrants which, subject to applicable
securities law, will be directed towards existing shareholders in
the Company as of 20 January 2025 (as registered
in VPS two trading days thereafter), who, (i) were not
included in the pre-sounding phase of the Private Placement, (ii)
were not allocated New Shares in the Private Placement, and (iii)
are not resident in a jurisdiction where such offering would be
unlawful or, would (in jurisdictions other than Norway) require any
prospectus, filing, registration or similar action (the
"Eligible Shareholders"). The Eligible Shareholders are expected to
be granted non-tradable allocation rights. If carried out, the
subscription period in a Subsequent Offering is expected to
commence shortly after registration of the prospectus (if
relevant), and the subscription price in the Subsequent Offering
will be the same as the Offer Price in the Private Placement.
Ensurge will issue a separate stock exchange notice with further
details on the Subsequent Offering if and when finally
resolved.
About Ensurge Micropower:
Ensurge is Energizing Innovation (TM) with the first ultrathin,
flexible, reliable, and fundamentally safe solid-state lithium
microbattery for the 1 to 100 milliampere-hour (mAh) class of
wearable devices, connected sensors, and beyond. The innovative
Ensurge Microbattery enables energy-dense rechargeable products
that are ideal for form-factor-constrained applications including
hearables (hearing aids and wireless headphones), digital and
health wearables, sports and fitness devices, and IoT sensor
solutions that use energy harvesting to power everyday things. The
company's state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, located in the
heart of Silicon Valley, combines patented process technology and
materials innovation with the scale of roll-to-roll production
methods to bring the advantages of Ensurge technology to
established and expanding markets.
Advisors
Arctic Securities AS is acting as manager and bookrunner in
connection with the Private Placement. Ræder Bing advokatfirma AS
is acting as the Company's legal advisor. Advokatfirmaet Thommessen
AS is acting as legal advisor to the Manager.
For more information, please contact:
Lars Eikeland - Chief Executive Officer
E-mail: lars.eikeland@ensurge.com
This information is considered to be inside
information pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) and is
subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to MAR article 17
and section 5 -12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. This
stock exchange release was published by Ståle Bjørnstad, VP,
Corporate Development and IR, 20 January 2025 at 16:30
(CET).
Important information:
This announcement is not and does not form a part of any offer to
sell, or a solicitation of an offer to purchase, any securities of
the Company. The distribution of this announcement and other
information may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions.
Copies of this announcement are not being made and may not be
distributed or sent into any jurisdiction in which such
distribution would be unlawful or would require registration or
other measures. Persons into whose possession this announcement or
such other information should come are required to inform
themselves about and to observe any such restrictions.
The securities referred to in this announcement
have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities
Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and accordingly may
not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or
an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the
Securities Act and in accordance with applicable U.S. state
securities laws. The Company does not intend to register any part
of the offering or its securities in the United States or to
conduct a public offering of securities in the United States. Any
sale in the United States of the securities mentioned in
this announcement will be made solely to "qualified institutional
buyers" as defined in Rule 144A under the Securities Act.
In any EEA Member State, this communication is
only addressed to and is only directed at qualified investors in
that Member State within the meaning of the EU Prospectus
Regulation, i.e., only to investors who can receive the offer
without an approved prospectus in such EEA Member State. The
expression "EU Prospectus Regulation" means Regulation 2017/1129 as
amended together with any
applicable implementing measures in any Member State.
This communication is only being distributed to
and is only directed at persons in the United Kingdom that are (i)
investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the
Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order
2005, as amended (the "Order") or (ii) high net worth entities,
and other persons to whom this announcement may lawfully be
communicated, falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order
(all such persons together being referred to as "relevant
persons"). This communication must not be acted on or relied on by
persons who are not relevant persons. Any investment or investment
activity to which this communication relates is available only for
relevant persons and will be engaged in only with relevant persons.
Persons distributing this communication must satisfy themselves
that it is lawful to do so.
Matters discussed in this announcement may
constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements
are statements that are not historical facts and may be identified
by words such as "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "strategy",
"intends", "estimate", "will", "may", "continue", "should" and
similar expressions. The forward-looking statements in this release
are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in
turn, upon further assumptions. Although the Company believes that
these assumptions were reasonable when made, these assumptions are
inherently subject to significant known and unknown risks,
uncertainties, contingencies and other important factors which are
difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond its control.
Actual events may differ significantly from any
anticipated development due to a number of factors, including
without limitation, changes in investment levels and need for the
Company's services, changes in the general economic, political and
market conditions in the markets in which the Company operate, the
Company's ability to attract, retain and motivate qualified
personnel, changes in the Company's ability to engage in
commercially acceptable acquisitions and strategic investments, and
changes in laws and regulation and the potential impact of legal
proceedings and actions. Such risks, uncertainties, contingencies
and other important factors could cause actual events to differ
materially from the expectations expressed or implied in this
release by such forward-looking statements. The Company does not
provide any guarantees that the assumptions underlying the
forward-looking statements in this announcement are free from
errors nor does it accept any responsibility for the future
accuracy
of the opinions expressed in this announcement or any obligation to
update or revise the statements in this announcement to reflect
subsequent events. You should not place undue reliance on the
forward-looking statements in this document.
The information, opinions and forward-looking
statements contained in this announcement speak only as at its
date, and are subject to change without notice. The Company does
not undertake any obligation to review, update, confirm, or to
release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements to
reflect events that occur or circumstances that arise in relation
to the content of this announcement.
Neither the Manager nor any of its affiliates
makes any representation as to the accuracy or completeness of this
announcement and none of them accepts any responsibility for the
contents of this announcement or any matters referred to
herein.
This announcement is for information purposes
only and is not to be relied upon in substitution for the exercise
of independent judgment. It is not intended as investment advice
and under no circumstances is it to be used or considered as an
offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities
or a recommendation to buy or sell any securities in the Company.
Neither the Manager nor any of its affiliates accepts any liability
arising from the use of this announcement.
Ensurge Micropower Asa (LSE:0JI9)
Historical Stock Chart
From Dec 2024 to Jan 2025
Ensurge Micropower Asa (LSE:0JI9)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jan 2024 to Jan 2025