Benzinga | Sep 24, 2021 12:08PM EDT

WISeKey Increases Investment on its NFT Platform by Accessing the Remainder of its $44 Million Convertible Notes Subscription Agreements Signed middle of the Year

WISeKey Increases Investment on its NFT Platform by Accessing the Remainder of its $44 Million Convertible Notes Subscription Agreements Signed middle of the Year

Zug, Switzerland -- September 24, 2021 -- WISeKey International Holding Ltd ("WISeKey" or "Company") ((SIX: WIHN, NASDAQ:WKEY), a leading global cybersecurity, AI and IoT company, announced today that it has signed an amendment to its existing Convertible Notes Subscription Agreements ("Agreements") with global institutional investors (the "Investors"). to enable it to invest further in the development of its WISe.Art NFT platform and the TrusteCoin token as demand for its Trusted NFT solution increases.

In June 2021, following the signing of the Agreements, WISeKey issued an initial convertible note in the aggregate principal amount of $22 million for subscription by the Investors; this amendment to the Agreements provides WISeKey with early access to the remainder of its $44 million convertible notes through the creation of four Accelerated Tranches, each of between $2,000,000 and $5,500,000. The additional funding of up to $22 million, will enable WISeKey to gradually unlock increased financing to further its investment in the recently announced WISe.ART NFT platform and TrusteCoin.

Carlos Moreira, Founder and CEO of WISeKey said, "Due to the unprecedented increased demand for our secure WISe.Art platform and our TrusteCoin tokens, we have worked with our Investors to unlock this additional funding at an earlier point in time than was originally anticipated. This additional financing will enable us to continue the commercialization of the WISe.Art Platform and TrusteCoin.IO via a special vehicle company created by WISeKey in Zoug with the name TrusteCoin AG. The market demand for NFTs surged to new highs in the second quarter of 2021, totaling to $2.5 billion year-to-date, up from just $13.7 million in the first half of 2020, marketplace data showed. WISeKey is uniquely position as early player in this emerging NFT and it is well positioned to obtain a sizeable market share."

An NFT is a crypto asset, representing an intangible digital item such as an image, video, or in-game item. Owners of NFTs are recorded on blockchain, allowing an NFT to be traded as a stand-in for the digital asset it represents.

Terms of the amended Agreements

Under the terms of the amended Agreements, WISeKey has accelerated its ability to access the four additional tranches through the creation of four Accelerated Tranches, each of between $2,000,000 and $5,500,000, as determined by WISeKey and the Investors. The conversion price for the Accelerated Tranches is equal to the lower of a fixed conversion price as determined in the agreement and 90% of the lowest daily VWAPs of one Class B Share, as applicable, during the ten (10) consecutive trading day preceding the relevant conversion date, and the Investors have the option to convert the full amount of each Accelerated Tranche at any time. All other conditions of the existing Convertible Notes Subscription Agreements remain unchanged.

As part of the use of funds on the first tranche of the convertible agreement of $22 Million WISeKey invested an additional of $3.3 million cash into the arago operations, bringing our total investment to $11.7 million (since the initial investment made in late 2020).

Maxim Group LLC acted as the sole adviser on the amendment and placement agent.

About the Investors

The Investors have offices around the world with clients including endowment funds, financial planning groups, high net worth retail investors, and family offices. They have a global mandate to invest in high-conviction technology companies.