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Nordic Unmanned Contemplates Private Placement to Become First Publicly Listed Drone Operator in Europe

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NOVEMBER 26th, 2020 – Sandnes, Norway – Nordic Unmanned AS, a leading European provider of drone systems and services, is contemplating a private placement and listing on Euronext Growth Oslo (currently Merkur Market) in order to finance expected strong growth and international expansion.

“While the largest market for high-end drones has so far been for defence purposes, other private and public sector customers are now seeing the substantial advantages of unmanned technology: increased safety and data value combined with both reduced costs and carbon footprint. We are perfectly positioned to capitalize on this growing market, and the planned placement and listing will enable us to fully realize this potential,” said Knut Roar Wiig, CEO of Nordic Unmanned.

Contemplated private placement

Nordic Unmanned has engaged SpareBank 1 Markets and SpareBank 1 SR-Bank Markets to advise on the contemplated private placement.

The company intends to raise total proceeds of NOK 50 – 100 million. The purpose is to acquire more high-end drone systems, as well as further developing our proprietary product portfolio and general company purposes.

The company intends to apply for a listing of its shares on Euronext Growth Oslo. The first day of trading is expected to be on or about the 15th of December 2020.

Positioned for strong growth
Founded in 2014, Nordic Unmanned serves a number of large customers in Europe within areas such as environmental monitoring, fishery control, security, logistics and surveying and mapping. The total drone market in Europe is expected to grow by approximately 14 percent annually to around USD 10 billion in the period from 2020 to 2025. North America and Asia have similar growth rates.

Examples of Nordic Unmanned customers:

·         European Maritime Safety Agency: Environmental monitoring and rapid response to prevent pollution incidents and optimize response times

·         Equinor: Feasibility study and test flights, using drones to deliver parts to offshore installations

·         Bane NOR: Emergency preparedness and development of rail drones for Norwegian rail network

·         Norwegian Armed Forces: System integrator, including training and life cycle support

·         UK Ministry of Defence: Innovation contract to demonstrate aerial systems sensors, data exploitation and semi-autonomous capability

Nordic Unmanned is a system integrator, offering customers a complete combination of hardware, software and services, typically according to long-term contracts. The company supplies and operates its own Staaker drones, as well as high-end drones from Lockheed Martin and Schiebel.

The company had revenues of NOK 32 million in 2019. During the first three quarters of 2020, revenues increased to NOK 41 million. Based on a current strong order backlog and strong identifiable market prospects, the company expects substantial growth in the coming years.

Highlights

·         Commercial drone megatrend replacing legacy solutions

·         Perfectly positioned to target high-value segments

·         Long-term frame agreements result in low risk recurring revenues

·         Large backlog and strong identifiable potential in pipeline

·         Competent management, board, and organization

Advisors

SpareBank 1 Markets and SpareBank 1 SR-Bank Markets (the “Managers”) are engaged by the Nordic Unmanned (the “Company”) as financial advisors in connection with the contemplated private placement, and SpareBank 1 Markets has been engaged as Euronext Growth advisor in connection with the contemplated listing. Advokatfirmaet Schjødt AS is acting as legal advisor. Corporate Communications AS advises on communications and investor relations.

For more information, please contact:
Knut Roar Wiig, CEO, +47 92 66 66 59

About Nordic Unmanned

Nordic Unmanned delivers comprehensive data solutions through industry leading expertise, to assist both public and private customers in the transition to unmanned technology. The focus is to support demanding clients by collecting time-critical data with the use of unmanned technology. Founded in 2014, the company has offices in Stavanger, Oslo, and Frankfurt, and has quickly become one of Europe’s leading providers of unmanned systems and services, with operations across the continent. The company is ISO 9001-2015 certified by DNV-GL as a UAV and sensor operator. For more information visit nordicunmanned.com

Important notice

This announcement is not and does not form a part of any offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to purchase, any securities of the Company. Copies of this announcement are not being made and may not be distributed or sent into any jurisdiction in which such distribution would be unlawful or would require registration or other measures.

The securities referred to in this announcement have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and accordingly may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act and in accordance with applicable U.S. state securities laws. The Company does not intend to register any part of the offering in the United States or to conduct a public offering of securities in the United States. Any sale in the United States of the securities mentioned in this announcement will be made solely to “qualified institutional buyers” as defined in Rule 144A under the Securities Act.

In any EEA Member State, this communication is only addressed to and is only directed at qualified investors in that Member State within the meaning of the Prospectus Regulation, i.e., only to investors who can receive the offer without an approved prospectus in such EEA Member State. The expression “Prospectus Regulation” means Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 as amended (together with any applicable implementing measures in any Member State).

This communication is only being distributed to and is only directed at persons in the United Kingdom that are (i) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the “Order”) or (ii) high net worth entities, and other persons to whom this announcement may lawfully be communicated, falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (all such persons together being referred to as “relevant persons”). This communication must not be acted on or relied on by persons who are not relevant persons. Any investment or investment activity to which this communication relates is available only for relevant persons and will be engaged in only with relevant persons. Persons distributing this communication must satisfy themselves that it is lawful to do so.

Matters discussed in this announcement may constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and may be identified by words such as “believe”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “strategy”, “intends”, “estimate”, “will”, “may”, “continue”, “should” and similar expressions. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions. Although the Company believe that these assumptions were reasonable when made, these assumptions are inherently subject to significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other important factors which are difficult or impossible to predict, and are beyond their control. Actual events may differ significantly from any anticipated development due to a number of factors, including without limitation, changes in public sector investment levels, changes in the general economic, political and market conditions in the markets in which the Company operates, the Company’s ability to attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel, changes in the Company’s ability to engage in commercially acceptable acquisitions and strategic investments, and changes in laws and regulation and the potential impact of legal proceedings and actions. Such risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other important factors could cause actual events to differ materially from the expectations expressed or implied in this release by such forward-looking statements. The Company does not make any guarantee that the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements in this announcement are free from errors nor does it accept any responsibility for the future accuracy of the opinions expressed in this announcement or any obligation to update or revise the statements in this announcement to reflect subsequent events. You should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements in this announcement.

The information, opinions and forward-looking statements contained in this announcement speak only as at its date, and are subject to change without notice. The Company does not undertake any obligation to review, update, confirm, or to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that arise in relation to the content of this announcement.

Neither the Managers nor any of their affiliates makes any representation as to the accuracy or completeness of this announcement and none of them accepts any responsibility for the contents of this announcement or any matters referred to herein.

This announcement is for information purposes only and is not to be relied upon in substitution for the exercise of independent judgment. It is not intended as investment advice and under no circumstances is it to be used or considered as an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a recommendation to buy or sell any securities of the Company. Neither the Managers nor any of their affiliates accepts any liability arising from the use of this announcement.

The distribution of this announcement and other information may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions. Persons into whose possession this announcement or such other information should come are required to inform themselves about and to observe any such restrictions.

Nordic Unmanned Press Statement