FRLN - Freeline Shareholders Approve Acquisition by Syncona | Benzinga
LONDON, Feb. 12, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Freeline Therapeutics Holdings plc (NASDAQ:FRLN) ("Freeline") and Syncona Ltd ("Syncona") today announced that Freeline's shareholders have approved the proposal for Bidco 1354 Limited ("Bidco"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Syncona Portfolio Limited ("Syncona Portfolio"), to acquire all shares of Freeline not currently owned by Syncona Portfolio for $6.50 per American Depositary Share ("ADS") in cash (the "Acquisition"). As previously announced, Freeline and Bidco entered into an implementation agreement on November 22, 2023 to implement the Acquisition by means of a scheme of arrangement pursuant to Part 26 of the UK Companies Act 2006 (the "Scheme").
Voting results of the Court Meeting and General Meeting
At the Court Meeting, a majority in number of Scheme Shareholders who voted (either in person or by proxy) and who together represented 95.74 percent in value of all Scheme Shares voted by such Scheme Shareholders, voted in favor of the resolution to approve the Scheme. The resolution was accordingly passed.
At the General Meeting, 98.08 percent of votes were cast in favor of the resolution to approve the implementation of the Scheme, including the adoption of the amended articles of association of Freeline. The resolution was passed by the requisite majority of Freeline shareholders and was accordingly passed.
The full text of the resolutions put to the Court Meeting and General Meeting are set out in the scheme circular published by Freeline on January 18, 2024 (the "Scheme Circular").
The Acquisition remains subject to: (i) the sanction of the Scheme by the High Court of Justice of England and Wales, which is set to take place on February 19, 2024; (ii) the delivery of a copy of the Court Order to the Registrar of Companies; and (iii) the satisfaction or waiver (if applicable) of certain other customary closing conditions as set out in Part IV of the Scheme Circular. Subject to the foregoing, the Scheme is expected to become Effective on February 20, 2024.
In connection with the Scheme and subject to the Scheme becoming Effective, it is expected that the ADSs will be delisted from Nasdaq. The last day of trading in the ADSs on Nasdaq is expected to be February 16, 2024.
Capitalized terms in this announcement, unless otherwise defined, have the same meanings as set out in the Scheme Circular.
Chris Hollowood, CEO of Syncona Investment Management Limited, said: "We are delighted our proposal to acquire Freeline has been approved by the required majority of Freeline shareholders. We continue to be encouraged by the data published from its FLT201 Gaucher programme. The challenging market conditions impacting the biotech sector have presented a differentiated opportunity to take the company private, which we believe will provide the best route to potential risk-adjusted returns for our shareholders. It is an exciting milestone for the company, and we look forward to continuing to work closely alongside the Freeline management team to progress this potentially transformative therapy through the clinic and towards patients."
Michael Parini, CEO of Freeline Therapeutics, said: "Our goal at Freeline is to bring life-changing gene therapies to people with chronic debilitating diseases, starting with FLT201, our highly differentiated AAV gene therapy candidate for Gaucher disease. We believe the acquisition by Syncona, which will result in Freeline becoming a private company, provides the best path forward for us to do that in this current environment, and we are grateful for the overwhelming support shown by our shareholders."
About Freeline Therapeutics
Freeline is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing transformative gene therapies for chronic debilitating diseases. Freeline uses its proprietary, rationally designed AAV vector and capsid (AAVS3), along with novel promoters and transgenes, to deliver a functional copy of a therapeutic gene into human liver cells, thereby expressing a persistent functional level of the missing or dysfunctional protein into a patient's bloodstream. Freeline is currently advancing FLT201, a highly differentiated gene therapy candidate that delivers a novel transgene, in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial in people with Gaucher disease type 1. Freeline has additional programs in research, including one focused on GBA1-linked Parkinson's disease that leverages the same novel transgene as FLT201. Freeline is headquartered in the UK and has operations in the United States. For more information, visit www.freeline.life or connect with Freeline on LinkedIn and X.
About Syncona
Syncona's purpose is to invest to extend and enhance human life. Syncona does this by creating and building companies to deliver transformational treatments to patients in areas of high unmet need.
Syncona's strategy is to create, build and scale companies around exceptional science to create a diversified portfolio of 20-25 globally ...