AquaBounty Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: AQB), a biotechnology company focused on enhancing productivity in the aquaculture industry and a majority-owned subsidiary of Intrexon Corporation (Nasdaq: XON), has announced the pricing of its underwritten public offering of 3,345,282 shares of common stock at $2.25 per share.
The Maynard, Massachusetts-headquartered enterprise anticipates receiving aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $7.5 million from the flotation. The offering is expected to close on or about March 21, 2019, subject to customary closing conditions.
AquaBounty is engaged in the application of biotechnology to increase the growth rate of farmed fish to meet rising global consumer demand for species including salmon, trout and tilapia. Its AquAdvantage program is based upon a single, specific molecular modification in fish that results in more rapid growth in early development.
With aquaculture facilities in Prince Edward Island, Canada, and Indiana, USA, the company aims to raise disease-free, antibiotic-free salmon in land-based recirculating aquaculture systems, offering a reduced carbon footprint and no risk of pollution of marine ecosystems as compared to traditional sea-cage farming.
The stock flotation comes on the heels of the US Food and Drug Administration’s recent lifting a 2016 import ban that had prevented AquaBounty from bringing genetically engineered salmon eggs into the United States from Canada to lay the groundwork for farming and selling AquAdvantage brand salmon in North America’s largest market.
