Leuven, Belgium – 15 April, 2004 – Option NV (Euronext: OPTI) today announces that its board of directors has decided on April 15, 2004 to execute a private placement of new shares to a limited group of European institutional investors for a total amount of € 8.000.000 through the issuance of new shares whereby the capital will be increased within the framework of the authorized capital with cancellation of preferential subscription rights of existing shareholders.
The issuance price per new share was determined through a bookbuilding procedure with a minimum price set at the average closing price of the last 30 days prior to the subscription by the institutional investors.
The private placement was targeted towards a limited number of European high-quality institutional investors, whereby only minimum subscriptions of € 250.000 were accepted. The offer was for more than 2 times subscribed and therefore the orderbook was closed after a few hours only.
On April 13, 2004, the Banking, Finance and Insurance Commission has granted Option a full exemption from the obligation of the publication of a prospectus in application of article 6, 3°, a) of the Royal Decree of September 18, 1990. Option filed a request to Euronext Brussels to list the newly issued shares on the First Market of Euronext Brussels.
Option will use the proceeds of the private placement primarily to fund the concrete growth perspectives coming from the positive evolution in demand in the sector, Option’s extremely well positioned product offering on one hand, and on the other hand the development of new solutions based on combined technologies UMTS, WiFi and EDGE, that will sustain this growth.
The shares that will be issued as a result of this private placement will have the same rights as the existing shares of Option NV.
KBC Securities acted as manager of this private placement.
The annual report for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2003 and other interim reports of Option NV are available through the consultation of the company’s website (www.option.com).
For more information please contact:
Frederic Convent
Chief Financial Officer & General Counsel
Tel +32 (0)16 317 411
Jan Callewaert
President & CEO
Tel +32 (0)16 317 411
About Option
Option NV (www.option.com ), the wireless technology company, is a leading innovator in the design, development and manufacture of 3G WCDMA (UMTS), EDGE, GPRS, GSM and WLAN technology products for wireless connectivity solutions. Option has built up an enviable reputation for creating exciting products that enhance the performance and functionality of wireless communications. Option’s headquarters are in Leuven, Belgium. The company has Research & Development in Leuven, a Software and Applications development centre in Adelsried (Germany) and an ISO 9002 production engineering and logistics facility in Cork, Ireland. More information can be found at www.option.com .
Option and the Option logo are trademarks of Option NV.