ADL Bionatur Solutions (MAB: ADL), a company specialised in research and development of health products, services and industrial fermentation production, has closed a EUR12 million fund raising with institutional and qualified investors in Spain.
The transaction follows the listing in May 2018 on the Mercado Alternativo Bursátil (MAB) a sub-market of the Spanish Prime Market (BME), through a reverse acquisition of Bionaturis by ADL Biopharma.
On 19 July 2018, ADL’s Board of Directors set a price per share to EUR 2.20 for the EUR 12 million capital increase with qualified investors, excluding subscription rights. Under the transaction, ADL issued 5,454,546 new shares, which are issued and listed on 30 July. ADL´s freefloat has now increased to over 20 per cent, thus its main shareholder Black Toro Capital (BTC) now holds 73,23 per cent, while Víctor Infante, founder of Bionaturis, holds 5,08 per cent of the Company.
Pilar de la Huerta, CEO of ADL Bionatur Solutions, says: “We are very proud to be trusted by so many major funds and investors. This financing supports our confidence in the strategy and future growth of the Company, shared with the investors during the fund-raising. I would like to thank both the teams at ADL Bionatur Solutions and BTC plus our external consultants for their great efforts during these months.”
In light of the transaction, Banco Sabadell valued the average price of the Company shares at EUR 3.52 each, representing a potential upside of 60 per cent compared to the offer price. Furthermore, GVC Gaesco, a Spanish Investment bank, recently initiated coverage of ADL.
Impulsa is acting as the registered financial advisor, Banco Sabadell and GV Gaesco as placing banks. KPMG and Cuatrecasas supported the transaction as lawyers, and Páez & Serrano and EY participated as the financial advisors in the transaction.
ADL is one of the European biotechnological leaders in fermentation and high value-add microbiology and development of chemical processes within the health sector. Based on the products developed in the animal health sector, ADL has a big potential for new developments also related to human health in the field of pro and post-biotics products. Today, the company has over 290 employees. ADL has a plant of 2,400 sq m industrial capacity and a pilot plant of 1,200 sq m in León, Spain, three research facilities in Jerez, San Sebastián and Barcelona, Spain, plus a sales office in Boston, MA, USA. In 2017, ADL recorded revenues of EUR 14 million and expects to double these revenues in 2018.
Through Bionaturis, its R&D division, ADL holds a portfolio of ten international patent families with state-of-the-art biotechnology assets. In 2017, the company launched eight products, all licensed by major pharmaceutical companies. Another five products are expected to be launched within the next three years.
Among the top-tier contracts of the fermentation division, two stand out, in particular: a contract worth EUR145 million for the production of a specific breast milk ingredient, signed with a global market leader from Germany, and the collaboration with the North American Company Amyris for a total contract value of EUR 16 million. Moreover, the contracts signed to date account for over 75 per cent of forecast revenues over the next six years.
Furthermore, ADL Biopharma has approval from the US FDA (Food & Drug Administration) to export oral products produced in its production plant. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted ADL, through Bionaturis, a patent to a vaccine for the treatment and prevention of visceral leishmaniasis, also known as black fever or Dumdum fever, in both, humans and dogs. ADL’s R&D and Animal Health Division, Bionaturis, has licensed and developed the vaccine, which is currently the subject of an exclusive licensing option with a leading multinational company in the vaccine sector.
Through its bioprocess division Splittera, Bionaturis also offers cutting-edge purification services for pharmaceutical products and licensing opportunities to its proprietary technology. The technologies are protected by patents in Australia, China, Japan and the European Union for commercial exploitation to one of the global leaders of the field.
