Contact Information: Contacts: LightPath Technologies, Inc. Jim Gaynor President & CEO or Dorothy Cipolla CFO +1 (407) 382-4003 Email: Alliance Advisors, LLC Alan Sheinwald President +1 (914) 669-0222 Email:
LightPath Technologies, Inc. Announces Completion of $2.9 Million Financing
| Source: LightPath Technologies
ORLANDO, FL--(Marketwire - August 4, 2008) - LightPath Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ : LPTH ), a
leading manufacturer of precision optical products, announced that it has
raised gross proceeds of approximately $2,929,000 through the sale of 8%
convertible debentures to a group of institutional and private investors.
LightPath, a leader in optics for laser-based applications, will use the
funds to provide working capital for the company.
The debentures are immediately convertible into 1,901,948 shares of common
stock. Investors also received warrants to purchase up to 950,974 shares of
the Company's common stock. The warrants are exercisable for a period of
five years beginning on August 1, 2008 with 65% of the warrants priced at
$1.68 per share and 35% of the warrants priced at $1.89 per share. If all
of the warrants were exercised, LightPath would receive additional proceeds
in the amount of $1,645,184. Interest on the debentures is payable
quarterly commencing on October 1, 2008. The interest due on October 1,
2008 was prepaid by the company on August 1, 2008 by issuing shares of
common stock in payment of such interest. The remaining interest payments
may be paid in cash or in LightPath common stock.
Investors who participated in LightPath's July 2007 common stock private
placement equity were offered an incentive to invest in the current
offering. Four investors from the 2007 offering participated in the
current offering and as a result LightPath reduced the exercise price of
the warrants they received in the 2007 offering from $5.50 per share to
$2.61 per share. Additionally, such investors were issued 73,228 incentive
shares.
None of the debentures, the warrants, the shares into which the debentures
are convertible or the shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants or the
incentive shares have been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent
registration or an applicable exemption from registration. The company has
agreed to cause the shares to be issued upon conversion of the debenture
and the shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and the incentive
shares to be registered for resale with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. This release does not constitute an offer to sell securities.
First Montauk Securities Corp. acted as exclusive placement agent for the
offering.
Jim Gaynor, President & CEO, said, "We are pleased that in this difficult
financial environment we were able to complete our offering. The proceeds
will help us continue to fuel our marketing efforts and increase our growth
in China. We will be announcing our interim financial results for the
fourth quarter in August and final results are planned for the second half
of September. We anticipate that those results will reflect continued
progress on our expanding revenue base and sustained reductions in our
fixed overhead structure as well as our variable costs."
Mr. Gaynor concluded, "I want to thank our employees and suppliers who have
been very supportive as we have executed and implemented our new business
model. Our organization has been able to manage the transformation and
continues to grow the business, which speaks volumes to the capability and
value that LightPath is building. With the completion of this financing, we
believe that the company is positioned for strong profitable growth. As a
result, we will retain Alliance Advisors, LLC to initiate a proactive and
targeted investor relations campaign and ensure that our shareholders and
members of the investment community are properly informed of our strategy
and competitive advantages as we move forward."
Bob Ripp, Chairman, commented, "As a sign of confidence five directors of
the board as well as two of LightPath's senior executives have invested in
this financing. This represented 12% of the total amount raised. LightPath
has the cost structure in place to pursue its new business model, and with
the continued cooperation of CDGM as well as the growth in relationships
with other Chinese suppliers and customers, LightPath believes it will
continue to improve its market share position and operational financial
performance. We also remain confident that in the future we will have the
opportunity to further leverage our technology and manufacturing expertise
in China with a Chinese partner."
Since the company was unable to raise the entire required $5 million for
our proposed joint venture with CDGM, China's largest glass manufacturer,
LightPath will utilize some of the proceeds to make a modest investment in
the imaging consumer market for cell phones and digital cameras. The
investment will be for an optical design team, sales staff and
manufacturing equipment. The personnel and equipment will all be deployed
in China to continue to expand in this large emerging market opportunity in
China.
Mr. Ripp concluded, "While we were not able to secure all of the $5 million
financing necessary to fund our investment in the proposed joint venture
with CDGM, I thank our partner CDGM for their patience and flexibility and
for continuing discussions about working towards penetrating the consumer
imaging market together."
About LightPath
LightPath manufactures optical products including precision molded aspheric
optics, GRADIUM® glass products, proprietary collimator assemblies, laser
components utilizing proprietary automation technology, higher-level
assemblies and packing solutions. LightPath has a strong patent portfolio
that has been granted or licensed to us in these fields. LightPath common
stock trades on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the stock symbol LPTH. For
more information visit www.lightpath.com
About Alliance Advisors, LLC
Alliance Advisors, LLC is a focused and dedicated organization that acts as
a premier informational resource for institutional investors, hedge funds,
buy and sell-side analysts, small to large brokerage firms and accredited
investors. Alliance Advisors helps their clients' companies package their
corporate information in a clear, concise and consistent manner while
facilitating introductions to the right investors at the most opportune
time. For more information visit www.allianceadvisors.net
This news release includes statements that constitute forward-looking
statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This information may involve
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause
or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, factors
detailed by LightPath Technologies, Inc. in its public filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required under the federal
securities laws and the rules and regulations of the Securities and
Exchange Commission, we do not have any intention or obligation to update
publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.