Akoustis™ Co-Chairman, Jerry Neal, Leads $1.61 Million Financing Round
Charlotte, N.C., Nov. 28, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Akoustis Technologies, Inc. (OTCQB: AKTS) (“Akoustis” or the “Company”), a manufacturer of patented BulkONE™ bulk acoustic wave (BAW) high band RF filters for mobile wireless, announced today a closing of a private placement offering in which it sold 322,000 shares of common stock to accredited investors at a fixed purchase price of $5.00 per share, for aggregate gross proceeds of $1,610,000.
The round was led by Akoustis Co-Chairman, Jerry Neal as well as Steven Miller, the founder and former Chairman and CEO of Sawtek Inc., which was sold to TriQuint Semiconductor in 2001. Akoustis management also participated, including CEO, Jeff Shealy, recently appointed VP Engineering, Rohan Houlden, and VP Operations, Mark Boomgarden.
Akoustis CEO, Jeff Shealy, commented, “I would like to thank our co-Chairman Jerry Neal as well as welcome Steven Miller as a new investor in Akoustis. I believe the investment by Akoustis insiders demonstrates the confidence within the Company regarding our patented BAW RF technology.”
The Company intends to use the proceeds from the offering principally to support operations and the continued development and qualification of its premium high-band BAW RF filters utilizing its patented single-crystal piezoelectric materials.
The offer and sale of the foregoing securities was made in a transaction not involving a public offering and have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), or applicable state securities laws. Accordingly, the securities may not be reoffered or resold in the United States except pursuant to an effective registration statement or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act and such applicable state securities laws. As part of the transaction, the Company has agreed to file a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for purposes of registering the resale by the investors of the shares of common stock purchased by such investors.
This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the securities, nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of such state. Any offering of the securities under the resale registration statement will only be by means of a prospectus.
About Akoustis
Akoustis™ (http://www.akoustis.com) is a high-tech RF filter solutions company that manufactures its unique, patent-pending BulkONE™ technology to produce single crystal bulk acoustic wave (BAW) RF filters for the mobile-wireless industry, which facilitate signal acquisition and accelerate band performance between the antenna and the back end of mobile devices. Its BulkONE™ technology will service the fast growing multi-billion dollar market of device OEMs, network providers, and consumers to diminish front end phone heat, battery drain and signal loss -- all considered to be directly related to current RF polycrystalline filter technologies’ limitations. Akoustis’ capital-efficient business model leverages third party investments and existing manufacturing infrastructure in the semiconductor industry. Akoustis™ is located in the Piedmont technology corridor between Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release that are not descriptions of historical facts are forward-looking statements that are based on management’s current expectations and assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology including “anticipates,” “believes,” “can,” “continue,” “could,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “potential,” “predicts,” “should,” “will,” “would” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated include, without limitation,
• risks relating to the results of our research and development activities, including uncertainties relating to semiconductor process manufacturing;
• the early stage of our BulkONE™ technology presently under development;
• our need for substantial additional funds in order to continue our operations and the uncertainty of whether we will be able to obtain the funding we need;
• our ability to retain or hire key scientific, engineering or management personnel;
• our ability to protect our intellectual property rights that are valuable to our business, including patent and other intellectual property rights;
• our dependence on third-party manufacturers, suppliers, research organizations, testing laboratories and other potential collaborators;
• our ability to successfully market and sell our technologies;
• the size and growth of the potential markets for any of our technologies, and the rate and degree of market acceptance of any of our technologies;
• competition in our industry; and
• regulatory developments in the U.S. and foreign countries.
In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the future events and circumstances discussed in the forward-looking statements in this press release may not occur, and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The forward-looking statements included in this presentation speak only as of the date hereof, and, except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update publicly or privately any forward-looking statements for any reason after the date of this presentation to conform these statements to actual results or to changes in our expectations. The materials do not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of any offer to buy, any securities of Akoustis, or any other entity whatsoever. Any representation to the contrary by any party should be ignored.
Akoustis Contact Information: COMPANY: Dave Aichele Akoustis, Inc. VP of Business Development Main: 704-997-5735, ext. 106 Email: daichele@akoustis.com INVESTORS: The Del Mar Consulting Group, Inc. Robert B. Prag, President 858-794-9500 bprag@delmarconsulting.com or Integra Consulting Group LLC Jeremy Roe, Managing Partner 925-262-8305 jeremy@integracg.net
Released November 28, 2016