Epoch invests NIS 21.2m in IceCure Medical

Hezi Himelfarb
Hezi Himelfarb

Epoch Partner is acquiring 57.13% of the tumor treatment device developer.

IceCure Medical Inc.'s (TASE: ICCM) share is surging on a lively turnover in Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) trading. The company today reported that Epoch Partner Investments was making an immediate NIS 21.2 million investment in IceCure, whose market cap stood at NIS 12 million before the start of today's trading.

Epoch Partner is acquiring 57.13% of IceCure's issued and paid-in capital and voting rights at NIS 0.14 a share.

IceCure said that its management regarded Epoch as a strategic investor with know-how and experience that could be of great assistance in implementing IceCure's strategy, and in efforts to find additional strategic partners.

Under the investment agreement, IceCure will allocate 151,420,000 shares at NIS 0.14 per share, the same price at which it conducted its most recent financing round in November 2014, and 22,700,000 options not listed for trading and exercisable at NIS 0.14 per option for 36 months from the deal closing date. Assuming that all the options are exercised, the securities on offer will constitute 60.51% of IceCure's issued and paid-in capital. The agreement also states that at the first board of directors meeting after the deal is closed, the agenda will include the appointment of two board of director candidates to be proposed by Epoch Partner.

IceCure researches and develops a medical device for minimally invasive treatment of tumors using cryoablation (extreme cold). The company switched to a new business model in 2014, and is currently focusing on the sale of its IceSense3 systems and special disposable needles to hospitals, medical centers, and private clinics, instead of leasing its systems. Since changing its focus to integrated sales, both directly and through distributors, IceCure's sales of its systems have grown, including to hospitals participating in a breast cancer trial. The IceSense3 system has US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and CE approval for treatment of both benign and malignant breast tumors.

IceCure CEO Hezi Himelfarb said, "The amount of the investment is a vote of confidence in the business potential of the technology developed by IceCure and the company's new sales model. The amount of the investment indicates the extent to which cryoablation technology makes it possible to carry out freezing and tissue destruction in a focused and controlled procedure, which is likely to prove a breakthrough in treatment of breast cancer and a future platform for additional treatments with major market potential. Epoch has widespread global connections in the health industry, and we're confident that these will be put at IceCure's disposal, and will facilitate continued implementation of our strategic plan, including continued growth, entry into new markets, and finding strategic partners."

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 17, 2015

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2015

Hezi Himelfarb
Hezi Himelfarb
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