VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TAAT™ GLOBAL ALTERNATIVES INC. (CSE: TAAT) (OTCQX: TOBAF) (FRANKFURT: 2TP) (the “Company” or “TAAT™”) is pleased to announce that it has closed an additional private placement of CAD $10,000,000 (the “Placement”) with subscribers to the Placement consisting of a group of venture investors (the “Investors”) led by Ms. Debbie Chang, co-founder of Horizons Ventures, in her personal capacity. The Placement follows a CAD $6,750,000 investment from the Investors announced by the Company in an October 9, 2020 press release, which included an allotment of Common Share purchase warrants subsequently voluntarily exercised by the Investors for additional proceeds of CAD $10,000,000 as announced in the Company’s December 11, 2020 press release. As a result, the Investors have cumulatively invested more than CAD $26,700,000 in TAAT™ to date, and the Company has since strengthened its placement in the capital markets with an upgrade of its Common Shares to the OTCQX® Best Market in the United States (announced in a March 23, 2021 press release), and the inclusion of its Common Shares in the CSE Composite Index® as well as its CSE25™ subset of the 25 largest companies in Composite by market capitalization1. The Placement was conducted at a price of CAD $3.00 per unit (each a “Unit”), approximately 130% higher than the CAD $1.30 price per Unit of the investment made by the Investors in October 2020.
Along with its launch in the United States with more than 1,000 stores selling TAAT™ as of October 2021, the Company has also initiated expansions into Australia as well as the United Kingdom and Ireland, where an initial shipment for commercial distribution recently arrived as announced in a September 29, 2021 press release. The Company plans to use the proceeds of the Placement to further expand its manufacturing resources and to continue its strategic marketing and brand-building initiatives towards smokers aged 21+ to grow and sustain awareness of TAAT™ as a unique nicotine-free alternative to traditional cigarettes. Moreover, the Company plans to use proceeds from the Placement to begin exploring potential expansions into Asian markets as part of its sustained relationship with Ms. Debbie Chang.
TAAT™ Chief Executive Officer Setti Coscarella commented, “It is a wonderful validation for such prolific investors to be making a follow-on investment into TAAT™ as we continue our entry into the USD $814 billion global tobacco industry, with multiple international expansions already underway. The Investors’ initial investment in 2020 was instrumental to us reaching several of the milestones we have attained so far to include growing our manufacturing facilities, undertaking further research and development, placing TAAT™ in more than 1,000 stores in the United States, and organically establishing the TAAT™ brand as a well-known nicotine-free alternative to cigarettes for smokers aged 21+. Accordingly, we are confident that this additional investment can be a catalyst for our continued growth in both new and existing markets, and we are most grateful to the Investors for their ongoing commitment to TAAT™.”
Pursuant to the Placement, the Company sold an aggregate of 3,333,333 Units, each Unit was issued at a price of CAD $3.00 and comprised of one common share of the Company (each a “Common Share”) and one-fourth of one (1/4) common share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a “Warrant”) of the Company. Each Warrant is exercisable to acquire one Common Share of the Company for a period of 24 months following the closing date at an exercise price of CAD $3.50 per Common Share. The Warrants are subject to an acceleration clause should the Common Shares have a closing price on the Canadian Securities Exchange (or such other exchange on which the Common Shares may be traded at such time) of CAD $4.50 or greater per Common Share for a period of ten (10) consecutive trading days at any time that is four months and one day from the closing date, in which event the Company may notify warrantholders that the Warrants must be exercised within a period of 30 days, or they will expire. All securities issued or issuable pursuant to the Placement are subject to a hold period of four months and one day.
In connection with the closing of this Placement, TAAT™ has paid CAD $500,000 in cash, representing 5% of the gross proceeds from the Placement, and issued an aggregate of 166,666 Common Shares in the capital of the Company, in payment of finder’s fees to an arm’s length party.