u-blox

Financial news

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26 Oct 2007

Offer price for u-blox set at CHF 51 per share

Press Release

Thalwil, Switzerland – October 26, 2007 – The IPO of u-blox Holding AG has met substantial interest among investors. The offer price was set at CHF 51 per registered share. The shares are listed and will commence trading on the main segment of the SWX Swiss Exchange today.

 

u-blox, a leading Swiss technology provider in the rapidly growing global GPS market, announced the offer price for its registered shares today. As a result of the high demand by investors, the offer price was set at CHF 51 per share, at the higher end of the price range between CHF 42 and CHF 54.

The final base offering amounts to 2,657,981 registered shares, of which 1,250,000 are newly issued shares and 1,407,981 shares were sold by existing (pre IPO) shareholders. In addition, the principle pre IPO shareholders have granted the managers of the offering an over-allotment option of up to 15% of the base offering (up to 398,696 shares). The managers of the offering have the right to exercise the over-allotment option until November 26, 2007.

The total offering size amounts to CHF 135.6 million or CHF 155.9 million in case of a fully exercised over-allotment option. The resulting free float will amount to about 43%; or 49% if the over-allotment option will be exercised in full. At the offer price of CHF 51, the market capitalisation of u-blox amounts to about CHF 318.4 million (based on a total of 6,243,370 registered shares). u-blox intends to use the net proceeds from the newly issued registered shares for the implementation of its growth strategy and the further expansion of its market position.

Trading of the registered shares will commence on the main segment of the SWX Swiss Exchange for the first time today, under the ticker symbol UBXN. Payment and delivery of the shares is scheduled for October 31, 2007.

The major pre IPO shareholders will continue to be shareholders in the company. They have committed themselves to a lock-up period of 180 days. The company has agreed to a lock-up period of 180 days, and the members of the executive committee and of the board of directors have committed themselves to a look-up period of 365 days.

Thomas Seiler, CEO of u-blox said: “With the IPO successfully completed, we are in an even stronger position to take advantage of the market opportunities and the immense growth potential of the GPS industry”. Jean-Pierre Wyss, Co-founder and CFO of u-blox added: "The listing of our shares on the SWX Swiss Exchange today is a major milestone in our company’s history and for our employees. We are delighted about the large demand for our shares, which shows the market’s confidence in our prospects as a public company".

Credit Suisse is acting as Global Coordinator and Sole Bookrunner, Zürcher Kantonalbank as Co-Lead Manager and Helvea SA as Selling Agent for the IPO.

Contact details
Thomas Seiler, Chief Executive Officer
phone: +41 (44) 722 74 44
Jean Pierre Wyss, Chief Financial Officer
phone: +41 (44) 722 74 44

About u-blox Holding AG
u-blox develops leading positioning technology, products and services based on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), including GPS and GALILEO, for the automotive and mobile terminal communications markets as well as for high precision infrastructure applications.

u-blox was founded in 1997 by a former research team from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH). Since its incorporation, u-blox has evolved from a small engineering company to a global provider of integrated positioning solutions. The company’s main operations are based in Thalwil in the Canton of Zurich in Switzerland, where its research and development, European sales and administrative functions are located. Furthermore, u-blox has subsidiaries dedicated to sales and customer services in the USA, Singapore and Hong Kong and additional representative offices in China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan.

In fiscal year 2006, u-blox generated sales of CHF 54.4 million and a net profit of CHF 7.4 million. For the six months ended June 30, 2007 the company recorded sales of CHF 39.4 million, representing a growth rate of 69% compared to the same period last year. As of June 30, 2007 u-blox had 69 employees, of which 48 are located in Switzerland.

Not for distribution in the United States, Australia, Canada or Japan.
This document does not contain or constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of any offer to buy securities in the United States or in any other jurisdiction in which such offer or solicitation is not authorized or to any person to whom it is unlawful to make an offer or solicitation. The securities of u-blox Holding AG have not been and will not be registered under the United States securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States [or to or for the account or the benefit of "U.S. persons" (as such term is defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended)] absent registration or an exemption from registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Neither u-blox Holding AG nor its shareholders intend to register any portion of the offering in the United States or conduct a public offering of securities in the United States.

Switzerland
This document constitutes neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation to buy any securities and it does not constitute a prospectus pursuant to art. 652a and/or 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations or art. 32 et seq. of the SWX Swiss Exchange Listing Rules. A decision to invest in shares of u-blox Holding AG should be based exclusively on the issue and listing prospectus published by the company for such purpose.

United Kingdom
This document is only being distributed to and is only directed at (i) persons who are outside the United Kingdom or (ii) investment professional falling within article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the "Order") or (iii) high net worth entities, and other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated, falling within article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (all such persons in (i), (ii) and (iii) above together being referred to as "Relevant Persons"). The Securities are only available to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to subscribe, purchase or otherwise acquire such securities will be engaged in only with, Relevant Persons. Any person who is not a Relevant Person should not act or rely on this document or any of its contents.

EEA Member States
In any EEA Member State that has implemented Directive 2003/71/EC (together with any applicable implementing measures in any EEA Member State, the "Prospectus Directive") this communication is only addressed to and is only directed at qualified investors in that EEA Member State within the meaning of the Prospectus Directive.

Forward-looking statements
This document contains specific forward-looking statements, e.g., statements including terms like "believe", "assume", "expect" or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may result in a substantial divergence between the actual results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and those explicitly or implicitly presumed in these statements. Against the background of these uncertainties readers should not rely on forward-looking statements. The company assumes no responsibility to up-date forward-looking statements or to adapt them to future events or developments.