Benzinga | Jun 10, 2021 11:56AM EDT

22nd Century Group Closes Registered Direct Offering, Raises $40M

Plant-based biotech company 22nd Century Group, Inc. (AMEX:XXII) has raised $40 million through a previously announced registered direct offering of its 10 million common shares at $4.00 per share.

The Buffalo, New York-based company closed the offering on Wednesday.

Cowen and Company, LLC acted as the only placement agent for the transaction, while the Special Equities Group, a Dawson James Securities Inc.'s division, served as financial advisor.

"This straight common equity financing will accelerate our ongoing strategic objectives and enable us to continue to advance across each of our three plant franchises," James A. Mish, the company's CEO, disclosed. "With our recently announced initiatives to strengthen and maximize multiple revenue opportunities in our hemp/cannabis franchise, we are now squarely positioned in the mainstream of the cannabis equity space."

22nd Century Group intends to use proceeds from the offering to fund its strategic actions across all its plant franchises, including research and development initiatives, capital expenditures, development of additional intellectual property rights as well as working capital and general corporate purposes.

"We look forward to continued momentum in all of our franchises, including the monetization of key patented technology in the second half of this year, announcement of our breeding partnerships, and the launch of VLN(r) 90 days after securing Modified Risk Tobacco Product (MRTP) designation," Mish added.

22nd Century Group's shares were trading 1.23% lower at $4.79 per share at the time of writing.

Photo by Roberto Valdivia on Unsplash