BioAmber Inc. (OTCPK: BIOA) ("BioAmber") announced today that it has received formal Quebec court approval for debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing. This funding will enable the execution of the Sales and Investor Solicitation Process (SISP) that commenced on June 1, 2018, as well as the continued operations of the Sarnia manufacturing facility.
Highlights of the court ruling include:
-- For the SISP, non-binding letters of intent ("LOIs") are now due by June 29, 2018, with binding term sheets being due by July 31, 2018;
-- The stay of proceedings against the petitioners has been extended by the court to July 31, 2018, consistent with the timing of the SISP;
-- A CAN$3 million DIP financing, provided by Maynbridge Capital, will be disbursed to BioAmber in two tranches: up to CAN$2 million can be disbursed through July 31 and an additional CAN$1 million can be disbursed after July 31, assuming the receipt of an LOI.
"The approval of DIP financing is a positive milestone in the continued restructuring of BioAmber. Throughout the process, BioAmber is successfully serving our customer base and continues to supply high quality bio-succinic acid to companies around the world. We would like to thank our customers for their support and willingness to work with us through this process. With this favorable court decision, we are pleased to be able to continue operations in Sarnia to meet the growing demand we're seeing from the market," stated Rick Eno, Chief Executive Officer. "In the longer term, BioAmber has a number of strategic and financial investors evaluating an investment as part of the SISP. We are optimistic that the closing of a transaction will provide our customers long term supply assurance from the Sarnia facility. We will continue to provide updates throughout the process."
Pursuant to the Notice of Intent (NOI) filing on May 4, 2018, PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc. ("PWC") has been appointed as the trustee in the proposal proceedings of BioAmber Sarnia Inc. and BioAmber Canada Inc., and in that capacity is monitoring and assisting BioAmber in its restructuring effort. Please contact Rick Eno, BioAmber, or Claudio Filippone, PWC, for information on participation in the SISP.
There can be no guarantee (i) that BioAmber will be successful in securing further financing or achieving its restructuring objectives, or (ii) that, in the event of the completion of its restructuring process, BioAmber's shares will have any value. Failure by BioAmber to achieve its financing and restructuring goals will likely result in BioAmber and/or its subsidiaries filing for bankruptcy.