News: Optoelectronics
15 November 2023
NUBURU announces $5.5m bridge financing
NUBURU Inc of Centennial, CO, USA — which was founded in 2015 and develops and manufactures high-power industrial blue lasers — has agreed a secured bridge loan worth $5.5m with existing investors and a new institutional investor in order to finance the firm until it secures long-term credit financing, which is anticipated in the near term.
“The bridge financing is an important step on our way to a longer-term credit facility intended to support the commercialization of our blue lasers,” says CEO Brian Knaley.
The bridge loan consists of zero-interest promissory notes issued with a 10% original issue discount, which will mature when NUBURU closes the anticipated credit facility (or 12 months after issuance at the latest). The notes are secured by NUBURU’s patent portfolio, which was independently and preliminarily valued to be worth $100m. Following acceptance by the NYSE of the firm’s supplemental listing application, NUBURU will also issue to the holders of notes warrants exercisable for common stock equal to 100% of the note principal, which will be exercisable for $0.25 per share, have a five-year term, and may be repurchased by the company when the trading price exceeds $1.50 for 20 out of 30 trading days. If the notes have not been repaid within six or nine months after issuance, the notes will begin to bear interest (at the SOFR rate plus 9% and at the SOFR rate plus 12%, respectively) and additional 25% warrant coverage will be provided at each such date. Pursuant to a registration rights agreement between the firm and the holders of warrants, NUBURU intends to register the common stock underlying the warrants no later than 1 February 2024.
The parties to the bridge financing also entered into an inter-creditor and subordination agreement with the holders of senior secured convertible notes, whose convertible notes will now be secured and rank senior in priority to the notes.
Northland Capital Markets acted as sole placement agent on the institutional investor portion of the bridge financing.
NUBURU extends independent chairman’s role to executive chairman
