SEALSQ Announces Closing of an Initial $10.0 Million Tranche of a Private Placement of Convertible Notes and Warrants

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SEALSQ Announces Closing of an Initial $10.0 Million Tranche of a Private Placement of Convertible Notes and Warrants
SEALSQ Announces Closing of an Initial $10.0 Million Tranche of a Private Placement of Convertible Notes and Warrants Admin CG July 12, 2023

Tortola, British Virgin Islands – July 12, 2023: SEALSQ Corp (Nasdaq: LAES) (“SEALSQ” or “Company”), a company that focuses on developing and selling Semiconductors, PKI and Post-Quantum technology hardware and software products, today announced that it has closed an initial $10.0 million tranche of a total possible $20.0 million private placement pursuant to the terms of a securities purchase agreement, dated July 11, 2023, with certain institutional investors (the “Investors”).

The investment is in the form of a Senior Unsecured Original Issue 4% Discount Convertible Promissory Note (the “Note”), resulting in proceeds before expenses to SEALSQ of approximately $9.6 million. The Note has a 24-month maturity and will bear interest at 4% per annum (subject to adjustment). In addition, the Note will be convertible into ordinary shares of SEALSQ at an initial conversion price equal to the lesser of $30.00 per ordinary share or 92.5% of the lowest daily volume weighted average price of the ordinary shares during the ten trading days immediately preceding the notice of conversion of the Note, subject to adjustment as further specified in the Note. The Note will be fully repayable in cash upon maturity. In addition, the Investors have the option of prepayment of up to 30% of the issuance amount of a subsequent financing.

As part of the investment, the Investors were also granted five-year warrants to purchase an aggregate of 245,816 ordinary shares at an initial exercise price equal to $30.00 per ordinary share, subject to adjustment.

Maxim Group LLC is acting as sole placement agent for the private placement.

SEALSQ has agreed to file a registration statement registering for the resale of the ordinary shares issuable upon the conversion of the Note and upon the exercise of the warrants. Subject to the mutual consent of the parties, upon the effectiveness of the resale registration statement, and subject to satisfaction of certain conditions, a second tranche of funding may be provided by the Investors in the principal amount of up to $10.0 million, less a 4% original issue discount. Such additional principal amounts, if funded, will be added to the principal amount of the Note, and the Investors will be entitled to receive an additional warrant (carrying the same terms as the initial warrant) to purchase ordinary shares equal to 30% of the face value of the Notes divided by the volume weighted average price.

SEALSQ plans to use the net proceeds from this financing to fund:

  • Expansion of U.S. operations by hiring top-tier talent and increase sales force to better serve the growing U.S. customer base.
  • Enhancement of production facilities in the U.S. and France by investing in advanced manufacturing and testing equipment aiming to improve efficiency and reduce semiconductors production localization risks.
  • Additional investments towards the development of a new generation of quantum-ready semiconductors designed to meet the computing demands of the future and offer superior processing power and energy efficiency.

Carlos Moreira, CEO of SEALSQ noted, “Over the years, we have made significant investments in researching and developing cutting-edge quantum-ready semiconductors and we have been at the forefront of the global innovation by providing solutions that can be used in a variety of applications and industries including smart cities, smart homes, IT infrastructure, finance, healthcare, etc. With this new funding, we are now ready to embark on a new phase of growth and innovation and prepare for a future in which quantum computing is expected to play a vital role for the global economy. With a quantum computing market which is projected to reach $65 billion by 2030, quantum-ready semiconductors are expected to make up a significant portion of that market.”

The general consensus among industry experts is that quantum computing, and by extension quantum semiconductors, will be a major growth area over the next decade. Quantum computing has the potential to revolutionize many industries, including finance, healthcare, artificial intelligence, and more, by solving complex problems much more efficiently than traditional computers.


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