Sep. 10, 2009 (Business Wire) -- Geron Corporation (Nasdaq:GERN) today announced that it has sold shares of Geron common stock and issued warrants to purchase common stock to institutional investors for proceeds of $3.6 million. The proceeds will fund an equity contribution to ViaGen, Inc., in which Geron holds a 27% ownership interest.
Geron sold 550,000 shares of common stock and issued warrants to purchase additional shares at a premium. Both the common stock sold and the stock underlying the warrants are subject to a lock-up on sale from the date of issuance.
The shares and warrants were offered through a prospectus supplement to the company’s effective universal shelf registration statement. The company arranged the financing directly with the investors.
“ViaGen is the leading animal cloning company. It was an early licensee of the nuclear transfer technology that Geron controls, and has a demonstrated track record in providing cloning services,” said David L. Greenwood, Geron’s executive vice president and chief financial officer. “This additional capital from Geron, along with the capital being contributed by our ownership partner, Exeter Life Sciences, will allow ViaGen to ramp up their business.”
About ViaGen
ViaGen is the global leader in animal cloning, a modern breeding technology that can be used to produce a genetic copy of an existing animal. The technology has important applications in agriculture and human medicine.
For agriculture, cloning can be used to improve the health, quality and consistency of livestock herds more effectively than is possible through conventional breeding methods. Animals with desired genetic traits, including disease resistance, improved meat quality or yield, or better milk production, can be identified, cloned and used for breeding to accelerate reproduction of the most productive and valuable livestock. Use of the technology allows for more efficient breeding programs and preservation of high quality genetic lines. ViaGen produces cloned animals for leading pig breeders and cattle breeding operations.
ViaGen and Trans Ova Genetics, a leading provider of cattle breeding technology based in Sioux City, Iowa, have formed Bovance, a joint venture offering cloning services to the cattle industry in the U.S. and Canada. In addition, ViaGen offers genetic services to the U.S. cattle industry by certifying high quality Angus beef through ViaGen’s AnguSure testing program.
ViaGen also provides cloning services to owners of world class horses, facilitating the preservation of highly valuable equine genetics, including the production of stallions from top performing geldings.
For human medicine, animal cloning can be used to generate animal models of human disease for research.
