Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Bontan acquires BVI-registered Portage Pharma Limited

Bontan Corporation Inc. announced the official signing and completion of share exchange agreement with shareholders of the BVI-registered Biotech corporation Portage Pharma Limited. The Letter of Intent between the companies was signed in April 2013, and now, under the terms of the signed agreement, all the shares of Portage Pharma Limited have been exchanged for approximately 81.7 million common shares of Bontan and approximately 71.4 million warrants valid for two years from the date of closing, exercisable to convert into an equal number of common shares of Bontan at an exercisable price of US$0.29 per share.

As a result of this transaction, Portange Pharma Limited merges into Portage Acquisition Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Bontan, incorporated in the BVI. The new merged entity, named Portage Pharma Inc., will be a subsidiary of Bontan.

After the share exchange transaction comes into effect, Bontan will have approximately 175 million common shares issued and outstanding of which approximately 91.5 million common shares will be restricted securities. Bontan will also have approximately 140 million options and warrants outstanding which are exercisable into an equal number of common shares.

Bontan together with its new subsidiary, Portage Pharma Inc., will be engaged in researching and developing pharmaceutical and biotech products through to proof of concept, focusing on unmet clinical needs and orphan drugs. After proof of concept, the Company will look to sell or licence the products to large pharmaceutical companies.