12 December 2007
The London Stock Exchange is delighted to welcome PureCircle Limited to AIM.
PureCircle develops and manufactures natural food ingredients for the global food and beverage industry. It is the world’s leading producer of Rebaudioside-A (“Reb-A”), a natural, zero-calorie high intensity sweetener (HIS) for supply to a number of major food and beverage companies globally.
PureCircle holds proprietary process technology for the extraction of high purity Reb-A from Stevia, and has significant first mover advantage, capitalising on the significant growth opportunities in a rapidly expanding global market for non-calorific HIS.
The company has raised US$50m (approximately £24.3m) which will be used to significantly expand the Group’s capacity to supply Reb-A and reduce debt. At the placing price of US$3.50 per share (170 pence per share), the company’s entire issued share capital is valued at approximately US$456m (£221.5m).
The company’s shares have today been admitted to trading on AIM under the ticker symbol “PURE”.
Magomet Malsagov, Managing Director of PureCircle, said:
“We are delighted to have raised the funds we need to grow the business, to meet the rapidly increasing demand from some of the world’s biggest food and beverage companies and to maintain our crucial first mover advantage in this market. This was particularly notable given the current difficult market conditions.
“We look forward to reporting on further progress over the coming months and welcome our new shareholders aboard.”
Nomad: RFC Corporate Finance
Broker: Hanson Westhouse
Financial PR: College Hill