LONDON - Aptamer Group plc (AIM: APTA), a developer of Optimer® binders for the life sciences industry, has granted significant share options to its directors and staff, and issued shares to a Non-Executive Director as part of its incentivization strategy. The company announced today that options to subscribe for up to 455,085,218 new ordinary shares were granted, along with an additional unallocated pool of 25,000,701 shares, following a fundraising event in August 2024.
The performance-based options have rigorous targets, designed to increase shareholder value, with full vesting contingent upon the company's share price reaching 12.5 times the exercise price. The exercise price for the new options is set at 0.2p, the same price as the recent fundraising round. These options replace previous awards from October 2023 and will vest in thirds when the share price sustains at 7, 10, and 12.5 times the issue price for at least three months, with respective exercise periods following vesting.
In addition to the options, Non-Executive Director Adam Hargreaves (LON:HRGV) has been issued 67,500,000 shares for his role in the August 2024 fundraising and for his ongoing services. This brings his total interest to 117,500,000 shares, representing 5.9% of the issued share capital. The admission of these shares to trading on AIM is anticipated around December 13, 2024.
Following the grant of options, the company's outstanding awards amount to 456,560,871 ordinary shares, with an issued share capital of 1,920,343,673 ordinary shares. The company has clarified that the total voting rights will be 1,987,843,673 ordinary shares after the admission, with no shares held in treasury.
The transactions, considered as related party transactions under the AIM Rules, have been deemed fair and reasonable by the independent director, Tim Sykes, after consultation with the company's nominated adviser, SPARK Advisory Partners Limited.
This strategic move by Aptamer Group is aimed at motivating its leadership and staff to achieve significant returns for the majority of its shareholders. CEO Dr. Arron Tolley expressed confidence in meeting the aggressive share price targets given the company's customer base and recent progress. This information is based on a press release statement from Aptamer Group plc.
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