OpGen’s Subsidiary Curetis and European Investment Bank Plan to Restructure Debt Repayment
April 25 2022 - 7:30AM
OpGen, Inc. (Nasdaq: OPGN, “OpGen”), a precision medicine
company harnessing the power of molecular diagnostics and
informatics to help combat infectious disease, announced today that
its subsidiary, Curetis GmbH (“Curetis”), and the European
Investment Bank (EIB) expect to restructure the repayment of the
first tranche which matured on April 22, 2022.
Under the currently contemplated terms of the restructured
repayment plan, OpGen’s subsidiary Curetis would repay EUR 5.0
million in cash in April 2022 and the remainder of the debt tranche
amounting to approximately EUR 8.35 million or approximately USD 9
million at current foreign exchange rates would be amortized over
the course of the next 12 month-period and paid in equal monthly
instalments of approximately EUR 0.7 million in cash, beginning at
the end of May 2022. Interest rates on the remaining debt would
remain unchanged at 10% per annum.
The parties also anticipate to increase the percent
participation interest or PPI from its current 0.3% on then
prevailing OpGen market cap by June 2024 to 0.75% at that time. No
other payments or consideration (including any equity) is
contemplated as part of the currently proposed restructuring
plan.
The second and third tranches of EUR 3.0 million and EUR 5.0
million principal plus respective accumulated deferred interest
which mature and become due for repayment in June 2023 and June
2024, respectively, remain unchanged at this time.
“After having looked at more than half a dozen different
structures and term sheets that were presented to OpGen via
multiple brokers and investors in addition to the EIB itself over
the past several months, we believe that this is the best path
forward for OpGen,” commented Oliver Schacht, CEO of OpGen Inc. “We
have avoided issuing or reserving large numbers of OpGen’s
authorized common stock to the EIB at a time where our share price
has come under significant pressure in the capital markets. We also
determined that having a large overhang in any convertible security
whether directly with EIB or any other institutional investor at
this time would not have been in our shareholders’ best
interest.”
While the company expects to finalize a restructuring with EIB
on the foregoing terms, no definitive agreement has been signed
yet. The parties expect to enter into an amendment to the existing
finance agreement or a side letter thereto, as soon as practicable,
memorializing the foregoing terms. Nevertheless, there can be no
guarantee that the parties will ultimately enter into an agreement
with respect to the contemplated restructuring or, if they do, as
to the terms thereof.
About OpGen, Inc. OpGen,
Inc. (Rockville, MD, USA) is a precision medicine company
harnessing the power of molecular diagnostics and bioinformatics to
help combat infectious disease. Along with our
subsidiaries, Curetis GmbH and Ares Genetics GmbH,
we are developing and commercializing molecular microbiology
solutions helping to guide clinicians with more rapid and
actionable information about life threatening infections to improve
patient outcomes and decrease the spread of infections caused by
multidrug-resistant microorganisms, or MDROs. OpGen’s product
portfolio includes Unyvero, Acuitas AMR Gene Panel, and the
ARES Technology Platform including ARESdb, using NGS technology and
AI-powered bioinformatics solutions for antibiotic response
prediction.
For more information, please visit www.opgen.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes statements regarding the
restructuring of certain indebtedness with the EIB. These
statements and other statements regarding OpGen’s future plans and
goals constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of
Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and are intended to qualify for the
safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are subject to risks
and uncertainties that are often difficult to predict, are beyond
our control, and which may cause results to differ materially from
expectations. Factors that could cause our results to differ
materially from those described include, but are not limited to,
the success of our commercialization efforts, our ability to
successfully, timely and cost-effectively develop, seek and obtain
regulatory clearance for and commercialize our product and services
offerings, the rate of adoption of our products and services by
hospitals and other healthcare providers, the fact that we may not
effectively use proceeds from recent financings, the continued
realization of expected benefits of our business combination
transaction with Curetis GmbH, the continued impact of
COVID-19 on the Company’s operations, financial results, and
commercialization efforts as well as on capital markets and general
economic conditions, the effect of the military action
in Russia and Ukraine on our distributors,
collaborators, and service providers, our liquidity and working
capital requirements, the effect on our business of existing and
new regulatory requirements, and other economic and competitive
factors. For a discussion of the most significant risks and
uncertainties associated with OpGen's business, please
review our filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements, which are based on our expectations as
of the date of this press release and speak only as of the date of
this press release. We undertake no obligation to publicly update
or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.
OpGen:Oliver SchachtPresident and
CEOInvestorRelations@opgen.com
OpGen Press Contact:Matthew
Bretzius FischTank Marketing and
PRmatt@fischtankpr.com
OpGen Investor Contact:Alyssa
FactorEdison Groupafactor@edisongroup.com
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