16.12.2015 – 07:29

Leclanché SA

EQS-Adhoc: Leclanché SA raises CHF 6.9 million to support growth investments

EQS Group-Ad-hoc: Leclanché SA / Key word(s): Miscellaneous
Leclanché SA raises CHF 6.9 million to support growth investments

16.12.2015 / 07:18
Release of an ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 KR.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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Leclanché SA raises CHF 6.9 million to support growth investments

-Leclanché SA successfully conducts a private placement and the issuance of
mandatory convertible notes to existing and new investors

-Additional private placement to be potentially conducted in January/February
2016

Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland, 16 December 2015- Leclanché SA announces that
its Board of Directors has decided to conduct a further capital raise for the
Company to support its growth plans. The raise shall be done in two phases.

In the first phase, the share capital of Leclanché is increased in the context
of a private placement following the subscription by existing and new investors
of 1,894,445 new registered shares out of authorized capital. The subscription
price has been set at CHF 2.40 per new registered share. This subscription price
is 1.7% above the closing price on the SIX Swiss Exchange on 15 December 2015.
Once issued, the new shares will be immediately freely tradable.

The first trading day and the delivery of the 1,894,445 new registered shares
are planned for 23 December 2015. The new registered shares will rank equal with
the existing registered shares. After closing of the capital increase 37,902,974
fully paid-up registered shares with a nominal value of CHF 1.50 each will be in
issue.

In addition, investors subscribed to mandatory convertible notes amounting to
CHF 2.4 million due 15 December 2016. The non-listed notes carry an annual
nominal interest rate of one per cent and are mandatorily convertible into new
shares of Leclanché at the conversion price of CHF 2.40 per new registered
share.

In the second phase due in January/February 2016, Leclanché is aiming at a
further increase of its share capital out of authorized capital to be subscribed
for by existing and new investors.

Leclanché intends to use the net proceeds primarily to support growth
investments in projects, in particular to manufacture, install and commission
the first part of a large Grid Ancillary Services project, which was presented
by the Leclanché CEO during the extraordinary shareholders' meeting on 6 October
2015. It will also use part of the proceeds to pay remaining amount to complete
the M&A transaction with ads-tec GmbH announced on 13 August 2015.

In the first phase, Leclanché has secured solid backing from most of its larger
shareholders as well as a new significant private equity investor, ACE &
Company. Founded in 2005, ACE & Company is a global private equity group based
in Geneva, Switzerland. The group has five offices globally and invests across
the various stages of private equity, from business angel to buyout
acquisitions, including growth capital and special situations.

Commenting on the new partnership with Leclanché,Adam Said, CEO and founder of
ACE & Company, said: "ACE is proud to support Leclanché in its efforts to become
a market leader in energy storage solutions. Energy storage is an enormous
market in the making that is still underappreciated by most analysts and
investors. This iconic Swiss company is the largest producer of battery cells in
Europe today and has unique technologies time tested through a century of
innovation in battery systems. Leclanché's lithium-ion technologies have proven
to be significantly more efficient, with longer lifecycles and higher power
capacity, than its alternative technologies for large scale storage solutions.
Most importantly, the new management has shown its ability to capitalize on the
company's unique resources by winning landmark projects and new financings. We
are confident that the research, engineering, and technical teams at Leclanché
are best able to serve the increasing demand of clients for fully integrated and
specialty battery systems. We are looking forward to participating actively in
the journey ahead!"

Anil Srivastava, CEO of Leclanché, commented: "I wish to thank all our
shareholders for their continued commitment to our business and for their
valuable investment; we are in particular grateful to our existing shareholders
Recharge, Bruellan and Logistable for their support. I am glad to welcome ACE &
Company, a recognized global private equity group as a new partner in the
Leclanché. We very much look for their support to accelerate growth of
Leclanché. The proceeds provide Leclanché with sufficient liquidity to fund most
of its growth investments."

We would like to further notify that Leclanché SA has become aware that 50% of
its share capital and legal reserves are no longer covered by net equity. The
development is due to an increase of the nominal share capital and the legal
reserves as a result of the conversions of the convertible loan granted to
Leclanché by Recharge A/S and the operational loss incurred by the company in
the first half of year 2015. As a consequence, the Board of Directors has
resolved to conduct the above mentioned private placement in lieu of the rights
offering resolved at the extraordinary general meeting held on 6 October 2015.
In addition, Leclanché will invite for an extraordinary general meeting as
required by law (Art. 725 Sec. 1 CO). At the meeting the company will propose to
set off the its losses that have been accrued over the years with capital
contribution reserves. In addition, it will also propose a replenishment of the
Leclanché's authorized capital and conditional capital to support its further
growth. The invitation to the extraordinary general meeting with its full agenda
will be published in due course.

For further information:
Voxia communication
Claude-Olivier Rochat, phone: +41 79 203 52 19 -co.rochat@voxia.ch
Rohan Sant, phone: +41 79 120 00 28 -rohan.sant@voxia.ch
About Leclanché
Leclanché, which is listed on the Swiss stock exchange (SIX:LECN), has a wide
range of storage products for homes, small offices, large industries,
electricity grids, hybridization for mass transport systems like fleet of buses,
trams etc. Established in 1909 Leclanché has been a reliable partner for battery
storage technologies. Founded in the tradition of Georges Leclanché, the
inventor of the dry cell battery, Leclanché today has a rich portfolio of Energy
Storage Systems that include Specialized Customer-specific Battery Systems to
industry leading lithium-ion solutions. Through the integration of a spin-off of
the German Fraunhofer Institute in 2006 the company evolved from a traditional
battery producer into one of the first developers and manufacturers of
lithium-ion cells in Europe. Leclanché's Storage Solutions are optimized for
various applications, in particular for the integration of renewable energy,
diesel fuel reduction, electricity grid-connected ancillary services, peak power
shaving for heavy industries but also for heavy duty transportation in buses,
trams, trains or maritime vessels. Leclanché products are characterized by a
very high cycle stability (both for cells with titanate and graphite anode) and
long service life. Thanks to our patented separator technology, which is a core
element of lithium ion batteries, Leclanché is able to make cells with very good
safety characteristics in a highly automated production process. Leclanché
operates a fully automated plant for the production of large format lithium-ion
cells at an annual maximum capacity of up to one million cells and is capable of
running multiple chemistries through production for different cell
characteristics. In addition, Leclanché offers a number of specialized battery
systems through its Portable Business Unit, such as customer-specific energy
storage systems for defense and medical applications. Leclanché also distributes
primary and secondary batteries and accessories of other producers.
SIX Swiss Exchange: ticker symbol LECN | ISIN CH 011 030 311 9
www.leclanche.com

Disclaimer
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements relating to
Leclanché's business, which can be identified by terminology such as
"strategic", "proposes", "to introduce", "will", "planned", "expected",
"commitment", "expects", "set", "preparing", "plans", "estimates", "aims",
"would", "potential", "awaiting", "estimated", "proposal", or similar
expressions, or by expressed or implied discussions regarding the ramp up of
Leclanché's production capacity, potential applications for existing products,
or regarding potential future revenues from any such products, or potential
future sales or earnings of Leclanché or any of its business units. You should
not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements
reflect the current views of Leclanché regarding future events, and involve
known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual
results to be materially different from any future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by such statements. There can be no guarantee
that Leclanché's products will achieve any particular revenue levels. Nor can
there be any guarantee that Leclanché, or any of the business units, will
achieve any particular financial results.

End of ad hoc announcement

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16.12.2015 News transmitted by EQS Schweiz AG. www.eqs.com - news archive:
http://switzerland.eqs.com/de/News

The issuer is responsible for the contents of the release.
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Language: English

Company:  Leclanché SA

          Av. des Sports 42

          1400  Yverdon-les-Bains

          Switzerland

Phone:    +41 (24) 424 65-00

Fax:      +41 (24) 424 65-20

E-mail:    investors@leclanche.com

Internet: www.leclanche.com

ISIN:     CH0110303119, CH0016271550

Valor:    A1CUUB, 812950

Listed:   Foreign Exchange(s) SIX


End of News EQS Group News Service
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