BKYI BIO-key(R) International, Inc. Completes $3.7 Million Private Placement
BIO-key(R) International, Inc. Completes $3.7 Million Private Placement
WALL, NJ--(Marketwired - Nov 11, 2013) - BIO-key International, Inc. (OTCBB: BKYI), a global leader in fingerprint biometric identification solutions, advanced mobile credentialing and identity verification technologies, today reported that it has completed a private direct placement raising $3.7 million in equity capital before deducting placement agent fees and offering expenses from institutional and individual accredited investors. The total capital raised in the offering includes approximately $3.1 million previously reported in the Company's Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 28, 2013. Investors purchased units consisting of one share of common stock and one warrant at $0.15 per unit. Each warrant entitles the holder to purchase one additional share of common stock at $0.25 per share and expires in three years. Dougherty & Company LLC, a Minneapolis-based investment bank, acted as the exclusive placement agent for the transaction.
"This is a very exciting time for us. The Biometrics Industry and BIO-key have enjoyed a significant increase in awareness and visibility as a result of the Apple® iPhone® 5s release, as well as other fingerprint-enabled device releases. As these devices are delivered and deployed, our solutions, including VST®, WEB-key® and FreeChoiceID™, will provide for ubiquitous and interoperable finger biometric access for enterprise and consumer use, on the device, in the network or in the Cloud. Inquiries from potential customers and partners have increased and we are engaged in several new developments with industry stake-holders for both device level applications and Cloud applications. This is a critically important time in the industry and this capital raise will fund near term investments, primarily in sales & marketing, as well as incremental R&D," said Mike DePasquale, Chief Executive Officer of BIO-key.
"With several handset manufacturers incorporating sensors in their flagship smartphones, there is no doubt the commercial and consumer adoption of biometrics has started. This fresh capital is essential to engage the growing pipeline of opportunities and will enable our 2014-2015 plan to be more granular and tactically focused to drive sales over the near-term," said Jay Meier, VP Corporate Development of BIO-key.
About BIO-key
BIO-key International, Inc., headquartered in Wall, New Jersey, develops and delivers advanced identification solutions to commercial and government enterprises, integrators, and custom application developers. BIO-key's award winning, high performance, scalable, cost-effective and easy-to-deploy biometric finger identification technology accurately identifies and authenticates users of wireless and enterprise applications. Our solutions are used in local embedded OEM products as well as some of the world's largest identification deployments to improve security, guarantee identity, and help reduce identity theft. BIO-key's technology is offered directly or by market leading partners around the world. (http://www.bio-key.com)
BIO-key Safe Harbor Statement
Certain statements contained in this press release are "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Act"). The words "estimate," "project," "intends," "expects," "anticipates," "believes" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management pursuant to the "safe-harbor" provisions of the Act. These statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected on the basis of these statements. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, our history of losses and limited revenue, our ability to develop new products and evolve existing ones, wider market acceptance of biometric technologies, our ability to raise additional financing, and our ability to attract and retain key personnel. For a more complete description of these and other risk factors that may affect the future performance of BIO-key International, Inc., see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012 and its other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. The Company undertakes no obligation to disclose any revision to these forward-looking statements whether to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or otherwise.
Apple and iPhone are trademarks of Apple, Inc.
Contact:
BIO-key International, Inc.
Jay Meier
VP Corporate Development
651-789-6116
Jay.meier@bio-key.com
BIO-key(R) International, Inc. Completes $3.7 Million Private Placement
WALL, NJ--(Marketwired - Nov 11, 2013) - BIO-key International, Inc. (OTCBB: BKYI), a global leader in fingerprint biometric identification solutions, advanced mobile credentialing and identity verification technologies, today reported that it has completed a private direct placement raising $3.7 million in equity capital before deducting placement agent fees and offering expenses from institutional and individual accredited investors. The total capital raised in the offering includes approximately $3.1 million previously reported in the Company's Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 28, 2013. Investors purchased units consisting of one share of common stock and one warrant at $0.15 per unit. Each warrant entitles the holder to purchase one additional share of common stock at $0.25 per share and expires in three years. Dougherty & Company LLC, a Minneapolis-based investment bank, acted as the exclusive placement agent for the transaction.
"This is a very exciting time for us. The Biometrics Industry and BIO-key have enjoyed a significant increase in awareness and visibility as a result of the Apple® iPhone® 5s release, as well as other fingerprint-enabled device releases. As these devices are delivered and deployed, our solutions, including VST®, WEB-key® and FreeChoiceID™, will provide for ubiquitous and interoperable finger biometric access for enterprise and consumer use, on the device, in the network or in the Cloud. Inquiries from potential customers and partners have increased and we are engaged in several new developments with industry stake-holders for both device level applications and Cloud applications. This is a critically important time in the industry and this capital raise will fund near term investments, primarily in sales & marketing, as well as incremental R&D," said Mike DePasquale, Chief Executive Officer of BIO-key.
"With several handset manufacturers incorporating sensors in their flagship smartphones, there is no doubt the commercial and consumer adoption of biometrics has started. This fresh capital is essential to engage the growing pipeline of opportunities and will enable our 2014-2015 plan to be more granular and tactically focused to drive sales over the near-term," said Jay Meier, VP Corporate Development of BIO-key.
About BIO-key
BIO-key International, Inc., headquartered in Wall, New Jersey, develops and delivers advanced identification solutions to commercial and government enterprises, integrators, and custom application developers. BIO-key's award winning, high performance, scalable, cost-effective and easy-to-deploy biometric finger identification technology accurately identifies and authenticates users of wireless and enterprise applications. Our solutions are used in local embedded OEM products as well as some of the world's largest identification deployments to improve security, guarantee identity, and help reduce identity theft. BIO-key's technology is offered directly or by market leading partners around the world. (http://www.bio-key.com)
BIO-key Safe Harbor Statement
Certain statements contained in this press release are "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Act"). The words "estimate," "project," "intends," "expects," "anticipates," "believes" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management pursuant to the "safe-harbor" provisions of the Act. These statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected on the basis of these statements. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, our history of losses and limited revenue, our ability to develop new products and evolve existing ones, wider market acceptance of biometric technologies, our ability to raise additional financing, and our ability to attract and retain key personnel. For a more complete description of these and other risk factors that may affect the future performance of BIO-key International, Inc., see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012 and its other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. The Company undertakes no obligation to disclose any revision to these forward-looking statements whether to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or otherwise.
Apple and iPhone are trademarks of Apple, Inc.
Contact:
BIO-key International, Inc.
Jay Meier
VP Corporate Development
651-789-6116
Jay.meier@bio-key.com
