Opthea Announces Plans to Conduct Registered Public Offering and Listing in the United States

MELBOURNE, Australia, Aug. 24, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Opthea Limited (ASX:OPT) today announces that it has confidentially submitted a draft registration statement on Form F-1 to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) relating to a potential initial public offering of American Depositary Shares (“ADSs”) in the U.S. representing Opthea’s ordinary shares, which will remain listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, and concurrent listing of the ADSs on the Nasdaq Stock Market (“Nasdaq”). Any offering and listing of ADSs on Nasdaq would be intended to support Opthea’s product development activities, including its previously announced Phase 3 trials of OPT-302 for the treatment of wet AMD. The number of ADSs that may be offered, the number of underlying ordinary shares that may be issued, the price for such instruments and the timing of the offering have not yet been determined. Any offering is expected to commence after the SEC completes its review process, subject to market conditions, investor demand and shareholder approval. No final decision has been made in respect of any additional listing and there can be no assurance as to the occurrence, timing and/or completion of such a listing.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities. Any offers, solicitations or offers to buy, or any sales of securities will be made in accordance with the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (“Securities Act”). This announcement is being issued in accordance with Rule 135 under the Securities Act.

Forward-looking statements

Certain statements in this ASX announcement may contain forward-looking statements regarding Company business, financing activities and the therapeutic and commercial potential of its technologies and products in development. Any statement describing Company goals, expectations, intentions or beliefs is a forward-looking statement and should be considered an at-risk statement. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, particularly those risks or uncertainties inherent in the process of developing technology and in the process of discovering, developing and commercializing drugs that can be proven to be safe and effective for use as human therapeutics, and in the endeavour of building a business around such products and services. Opthea undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Actual results could differ materially from those discussed in this ASX announcement.