PALO ALTO, Calif., Dec. 23, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cellular Biomedicine Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:CBMG) (the "Company"), a biomedicine firm engaged in the development of effective treatments for degenerative and cancerous diseases, is pleased to announce today that options ("Options") to purchase an aggregate of 1,000,000 shares of the Company's common stock have been exercised at an exercise price of $8.00 per share, bringing an aggregate of $8,000,000 in exercise proceeds to the Company.
The Options were originally issued on July 2, 2014 to investor Francis Leung Pak To, a veteran Hong Kong investment banker. The Options were exercisable for three years at an exercise price of $8.00 per share. Prior to the exercise, Mr. Leung assigned 620,000 options to existing and new investors, which were immediately exercised in full.
Mr. Leung has over 30 years of experience in investment banking, in particular, the field of corporate finance involving capital raising, mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructuring and other general financial advisory activities, and principal investments in Hong Kong and the PRC. He is currently the Chairman (Greater China) and a managing partner of CVC Asia Pacific. On a personal basis, Mr. Leung is a seasoned growth capital investor.
"The early exercise of the Options demonstrates our investors' confidence in the Company and is contributing to the long-term development of the Company's immune cell therapy platform," commented Dr. William Wei Cao, Chief Executive Officer of Cellular Biomedicine Group. "The additional cash proceeds will allow Cellular Biomedicine Group to accelerate and expand the scope of its 2015 strategic plan while fortifying the balance sheet to attract new investors. We look forward to releasing the Company's interim Phase IIb clinical data for Rejoin™ human adipose-derived mesenchymal progenitor cell (haMPC) regenerative medicine treatment for Knee Osteoarthritis (KOA) in the first quarter of 2015."
About Cellular Biomedicine Group
Cellular Biomedicine Group, Inc. develops proprietary cell therapies for the treatment of certain degenerative diseases and cancers. Our developmental stem cell, progenitor cell, and immune cell projects are the result of research and development by scientists and doctors from China and the United States. Our flagship GMP facility, consisting of eight independent cell production lines, is designed, certified and managed according to U.S. standards. To learn more about CBMG, please visit: www.cellbiomedgroup.com
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release relating to plans, strategies, trends, specific activities or investments, and other statements that are not descriptions of historical facts may be forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking information is inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors, which include, but are not limited to, risk factors inherent in doing business. Forward-looking statements may be identified by terms such as "may," "will," "expects," "plans," "intends," "estimates," "potential," or "continue," or similar terms or the negative of these terms. Although CBMG believes the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, they cannot guarantee that future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements will be obtained. CBMG does not have any obligation to update these forward-looking statements other than as required by law.