UPPSALA, Sweden, Oct. 20, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Biacore International AB (Stockholm:BCOR) announces that today's extraordinary meeting of shareholders was attended by 18 shareholders, representing 52 percent of the total number of shares and votes in the company.
The meeting resolved in accordance with the board of directors' proposal on the issuance of a debenture with subscription rights for new shares and approval of employee options as part of a new long term incentive program. The decision mainly involves the following:
To secure obligations under the employee options, Biacore will issue a debenture with a nominal value of SEK 1,000 with a total of 200,000 detachable subscription rights for new shares in the company. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Biacore is entitled to subscribe for the debenture at a price corresponding to the debenture's nominal value. Each subscription right entitles the holder to subscribe for one new share in Biacore during the period from October 28, 2005, or the later date when the Swedish Companies Registration Office registers the issue, up to and including November 30, 2010. The subscription price will be equivalent to 110% of the average of the official quotation of the last price paid for the company's shares listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange during the period from and including October 21, 2005 up to and including October 27, 2005.
Calculated on the share capital and the number of votes after full exercise of outstanding employee options as of June 30, 2005 (including hedging of social security costs of previous programs), the proposed program corresponds to a dilution of approximately 1.9%. Based on the registered share capital and the number of votes, the cumulative dilution from all previous programs of outstanding employee options as of June 30, 2005 (including hedging of social security costs of previous programs) plus the proposed program will correspond to approximately 8.8%.
The subsidiary is to utilize the subscription rights in order to secure obligations pursuant to issued employee options. The employee options will be issued free of charge to employees within the Biacore group. The board of directors will decide on the allotment in each individual case. No more than 30,000 employee options shall be issued to the president/CEO of Biacore International AB, no more than 10,000 employee options each shall be issued to other senior management within the Biacore group and no more than 5,000 employee options each shall be issued to other key employees within the Biacore group. Members of the board who are appointed by the general meeting, and who are not employed by the company, will not receive employee options. Guaranteed allotment shall not occur.
The right to exercise employee options will accrue annually by 1/3 per year during 2006-2008. Payment shall be made in an amount for each share corresponding to 110% of the average last price paid for the company's shares listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange during the period from and including October 21, 2005 up to and including October 27, 2005. Each employee option allotted will be capped with a maximum appreciation of 250% above the original exercise price. The employee options may be exercised up until October 25, 2010.
Social security costs that arise when the employee options are exercised will not be hedged with part of the subscription rights issued, since the cost for this has not been deemed to outweigh the benefit. The cost of the proposed program includes two parts, which will affect Biacore's income statement:
1. The cost pertaining to the value of the incentive program, which, according to the Black & Scholes option pricing model and based on certain assumptions, has been estimated to approximately MSEK 9, unevenly distributed during three years.
2. Social security costs depending on the share price development. The social security costs are normally calculated on the gap value of the market value of the underlying shares at the time when the employee options are exercised and the strike price for the shares. Assuming a gap value of SEK 100 per employee option and an average rate of social security costs of 28%, the costs will amount to approximately SEK 5.6 million assuming all employee options are exercised. Such costs will be unevenly distributed during the term of the incentive program.
For further information, please contact: Donald R. Parfet, Chairman of the board +1 269 217 2008
About Biacore
Biacore is a global supplier of analytical systems that improve the productivity of research and development in the life science and pharmaceutical markets. The company's instruments generate unique data on protein interactions, an area of increasing focus in these markets. The data give insights into protein functionality, the role of proteins in normal and diseased states, and the influence of potential drug candidates.
Use of Biacore products is well-documented in key areas such as antibody characterization, proteomics, lead optimization and bio-therapeutic development and production. Customers include world renowned life science research centers, all of the leading global pharmaceutical companies and a large number of companies in the emerging biotechnology sector.
Biacore is successfully expanding into the food analysis market, providing key manufacturers with ready-to-use solutions for the determination of food quality and safety.
The company offers a range of products to meet specific customer needs. All instruments utilize Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) technology as the basis for detection and monitoring of protein interactions.
Biacore has its own direct sales capability in the world's key markets, United States, Europe, Japan, Australia and a distribution network in Asia-Pacific. The company was created in 1984, is based in Uppsala, Sweden, and is listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange www.stockholmsborsen.se (Stockholm:BCOR).
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