Basilea announces CHF 75 million senior secured loan agreement with Athyrium for non-dilutive refinancing of convertible bonds due in December 2022

Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR

Basel/Allschwil, Switzerland, September 07, 2022

Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd (SIX: BSLN), a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to meeting the needs of patients with severe bacterial and fungal infections, announced today that is has entered into a senior secured loan agreement with funds managed by Athyrium Capital Management, LP (“Athyrium”). The CHF 75 million senior secured loan will be used by Basilea for the repayment of its convertible bonds (ISIN CH0305398148), which are due in December 2022 in an outstanding nominal amount of approximately CHF 117 million.

Adesh Kaul, Chief Financial Officer of Basilea, said: “We are pleased to have secured this non-dilutive refinancing of our outstanding 2022 convertible bonds. The transaction allows us to achieve our goals of both reducing our debt level and avoiding dilution for our shareholders. Based on our strong financial position and growth prospects, we will be able to pay the remainder of the outstanding amount of the 2022 convertible bonds with cash at hand and furthermore, we intend to repay the CHF 75 million senior secured loan within two years from cash flows expected to be generated from our growing commercial business.”

Laurent D. Hermouet, Partner at Athyrium, added: “We are excited to work with Basilea to support its anti-infectives strategy. Basilea has demonstrated strong capabilities in the development, partnering and commercialization of anti-infectives and we look forward to the continued advancement of its pipeline candidates.”

The senior secured loan has a two-year term and repayment is expected to start as of Q1 2023 on a quarterly basis. Interest payments, excluding fees, are expected to amount to an average of approximately CHF 1.25 million per quarter over the term. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.

The transaction has no impact on Basilea’s financial guidance for 2022.

About Athyrium Capital Management

Athyrium is a specialized asset management company formed in 2008 to focus on investment opportunities in the global healthcare sector. Athyrium advises funds with over $4.6 billion in committed capital. The Athyrium team has substantial investment experience across a wide range of asset classes including public equity, private equity, fixed income, royalties, and other structured securities. Athyrium invests across all healthcare verticals including biopharma, medical devices and products, healthcare focused services, and healthcare information technology. The team partners with management teams to implement creative financing solutions to companies’ capital needs. For more information, please visit www.athyrium.com.

About Basilea

Basilea is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company founded in 2000 and headquartered in Switzerland. We are committed to discovering, developing and commercializing innovative drugs to meet the needs of patients with bacterial and fungal infections. We have successfully launched two hospital brands, Cresemba for the treatment of invasive fungal infections and Zevtera for the treatment of severe bacterial infections. In addition, we have several preclinical anti-infective assets in our portfolio. Basilea is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (SIX: BSLN). Please visit basilea.com.

Disclaimer

This communication expressly or implicitly contains certain forward-looking statements, such as “believe”, “assume”, “expect”, “forecast”, “project”, “may”, “could”, “might”, “will” or similar expressions concerning Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd and its business, including with respect to the progress, timing and completion of research, development and clinical studies for product candidates. Such statements involve certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd is providing this communication as of this date and does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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This ad hoc announcement can be downloaded from www.basilea.com. 

Attachment

• Press release (PDF)