IPO, financing and biometrics stock price hike signal optimism for growth year ahead

A series of announcements made over the holidays clearly indicate the momentum of investment in the biometrics market. Biodit has been approved for an IPO, Kabn has closed a financing round, NEC has closed an acquisition, SuperCom has regained Nasdaq compliance, Zwipe’s share price more than doubled in 2020, while RealNetworks and ImageWare have announced moves involving corporate leadership.

Biodit approved for IPO

Biodit, a Bulgarian developer of biometric solutions, has been approved for an initial public offering on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange’s BEAM market for January 21, 2021, with an offering of up to 1 million shares at an issue price of 1 lev (US$0.62) each, SeeNews reports.

The IPO will be considered successful with subscriptions for 250,000 or more shares, and Biodit CEO Julian Sofroniev told Bloomberg TV Bulgaria that the offering has drawn interest from both institutional and private investors.

The company’s registered capital amounts to 12.82 million levs ($8 million) divided between 12.82 million shares, according to the report. Shareholders approved a plan in 2020 to offer 1.95 million shares in several tranches on the stock exchange.

Kabn completes $1.15M placement

Kabn North America has successfully closed a brokered private placement raising $1.15 million to use for working capital and general corporate purposes as the company pursues market share for its biometrics-backed and user-controlled digital identity solutions.

The financing comes in the form of 7,666,667 units issued by the company at a price of $0.15 each, with each unit consisting of a common share and a common share purchase warrant, exercisable at $0.20 per share within 24 months. Mackie Research Capital Corporation acted as the agent for the placement, and has been issued 830,000 common shares as its fee.

NEC completes Avaloq acquisition

The acquisition of Avaloq by NEC has officially closed, enabling NEC to enter the global digital finance field.

The $2.2 million deal was initially announced in October, and under it Avaloq will continue its operation without any divestment in key regions or offerings, according to the announcement. NEC Executive Vice President Masakazu Yamashina takes over as chairman of Avaloq.

“Our solutions will only evolve for the better when leveraging NEC’s proven expertise with technologies related to Digital Identity, Artificial Intelligence, Verification, Blockchain, Cybersecurity, and Biometrics,” states Avaloq CEO Jürg Hunziker. “In addition, our innovation capabilities will be elevated with NEC’s strong commitment to Research & Development, evidenced by the resources it has placed towards this, including dedicated facilities in Heidelberg, Germany.”

SuperCom regains minimum Nasdaq bid price

SuperCom stock held at the $1.00 minimum bid price requirement of the Nasdaq stock exchange for 20 consecutive days in December, regaining compliance and ending its probationary period.

The company received its latest warning from the Nasdaq in October, roughly a year after a previous minimum bid price warning.

Zwipe finishes with strong stock performance

Zwipe approached the conclusion of calendar 2020 with a 231 percent gain in share price on the Oslo Stock Exchange, according to an article in Norwegian publication Finansavisen shared by the company, making it the 4th-best performing tech share on the exchange.

The article notes that Zwipe is preparing for mass rollout of biometric payment cards during 2021.

RealNetworks and ImageWare leadership changes

RealNetworks has announced the granting of approximately 1.1 million restricted stock units (RSUs) to one new employee by the compensation committee of its Board of Directors under the company’s 2020 Inducement Equity Plan. The move maintains RealNetworks’ compliance with Nasdaq listing rule 5635(c)(4), for disclosure of new employee incentives without seeking shareholder approval.

The RSUs consist of a sign-on bonus and a new-hire equity award, according to the announcement. The new employee is not identified by the company.

ImageWare has filed a form 8-k to announce that Chief Financial Officer Jonathan Morris has left the company by mutual agreement to pursue new opportunities, and Director Brian Smeal has resigned to deal with a family matter.

The company expects to announce a new CFO in the near future.

Article Topics

Biodit  |  biometrics  |  biometrics stocks  |  financial results  |  funding  |  ImageWare  |  investment  |  IPO  |  Kabn Systems  |  NEC  |  RealNetworks  |  SuperCom  |  Zwipe