OCZ Technology Group Raises $13 Million in Private Placement

[btarunr]

OCZ Technology Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: OCZ) (the "Company"), a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) and power management solutions for computing devices and systems, today announced that it has signed definitive agreements with various institutional and accredited investors to raise gross proceeds of approximately $13 million in a private placement of Senior Secured Convertible Debentures and Warrants. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions. The Senior Secured Convertible Debentures are secured by a lien on all of the assets of OCZ Technology Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries, and are subordinate to the Hercules Technology Growth Capital, Inc. ("Hercules") Loan and Security Agreement. The debentures carry a 9 percent interest rate per year, payable in cash, and will mature on the one year anniversary of the closing date. The debentures are convertible into shares of OCZ Technology common stock at a conversion price of $1.70 per share.

In connection with the offering of the debentures, warrants will also be issued at closing that provide investors the opportunity to purchase common stock equal to 75 percent of the number of shares into which the debentures will be convertible, and at a strike price of $0.75 per share. The warrants will have a 5 year term from the closing date. Both the conversion price of the debentures and the exercise price of the warrants are subject to price adjustments in relation to anti-dilution events. "This new financing provides OCZ with additional capital to continue the transformation of our business as the Company continues to focus on delivering high performance, client and enterprise solid state storage solutions," stated Rafael Torres, CFO of OCZ Technology. In addition, OCZ Technology also announced that it has retained Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. as financial advisor to assist the board of directors in evaluating various strategic alternatives available to the Company.

At closing, the Company will amend its Loan and Security agreement with Hercules as the Company did not meet certain covenants. In connection with the amendment, all of Hercules warrants, or approximately 3.9 million warrants, will be cancelled. This loan will now be payable on June 1, 2014, and will include a loan fee of $6.5 million that will be payable at maturity of the loan and be junior to the Senior Secured Convertible Debentures. Upon the effectiveness of this amendment, Hercules waives any existing defaults. Additional details of the transaction will be filed in an 8-K and OCZ encourages investors to read the filing for a better understanding of the terms of the funding.

OCZ will be required to file a resale registration statement within 60 days following the closing that covers the resale by the purchasers of the shares issuable upon conversion of the debentures or exercise of the warrants. The debentures and warrants have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act of 1933 or the securities laws of any state or jurisdiction. This press release does not and shall not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, any of the securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration under the securities laws of any state or jurisdiction.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[ssdpro]

Go mid-size guy!

Things must decent behind the curtain for more investment. I hope OCZ keeps this rolling. I prefer their SSDs because they are just as reliable as the behemoths, a bit faster, and have actual people you can talk to if you have a problem. I get frustrated when ppl talk about reliability and say OCZ is mediocre or horrible. OCZ just doesn't have the internet scrubbers and PR that other giants must have. A major review site reviewed the 840 Pro and that review even mentioned 2 review samples failing. Did anyone care this happened even to an expert like Anand?

 

[W1zzard]

So OCZ went to a loan shark to borrow at 9% interest rate, when banks can borrow at roughly 0%

that it has retained Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. as financial advisor to assist the board of directors in evaluating various strategic alternatives

translation: we are still up for sale, but nobody has shown interest yet

borrowing that money might help them keep going until a buyer is found

amend its Loan and Security agreement with Hercules [..] This loan will now be payable on June 1, 2014, and will include a loan fee of $6.5 million

translation: Hercules doesn't like us anymore and wanted out. We'll have to repay their original 10M + 6.5M fee

 

[de.das.dude]

thanks for translating w1zz!

so they are broke. sad... i was kinda looking at the stock price and wondering that.

 

[Jorge]

There doesn't need to be anything "behind the curtain". Investors can take a stake in the company and they get paid no matter what happens to the company. They could eventually take complete control of the company and liquidate it or restructure it.

 

[Roph]

Things must decent behind the curtain for more investment. I hope OCZ keeps this rolling. I prefer their SSDs because they are just as reliable as the behemoths, a bit faster, and have actual people you can talk to if you have a problem. I get frustrated when ppl talk about reliability and say OCZ is mediocre or horrible. OCZ just doesn't have the internet scrubbers and PR that other giants must have. A major review site reviewed the 840 Pro and that review even mentioned 2 review samples failing. Did anyone care this happened even to an expert like Anand?

I've never seen Samsung, Crucial, Intel etc caught using fake NAND rated for products like childrens toys though, like OCZ has. No SSD manufacturer has failure rates like OCZ's.

And this is not because OCZ sells more SSDs than anyone else (they don't) and thus would have higher failure rates simply because more people have OCZ SSDs. OCZ squats in a corner and squeezes out a lot of trash. Even if the Vector is brilliant, OCZ have already shit all over their reputation. Why do you think they are falling into bankruptcy?

 

[Easy Rhino]

OCZ made a solid product with good support but they just didn't get the word out! i think they should have spent some more money marketing and perhaps investing in a high end lineup so they could tout themselves as a worthy competitor. it's too bad.

 

[qwerty_lesh]

I've never seen Samsung, Crucial, Intel etc caught using fake NAND rated for products like childrens toys though, like OCZ has. No SSD manufacturer has failure rates like OCZ's.

And this is not because OCZ sells more SSDs than anyone else (they don't) and thus would have higher failure rates simply because more people have OCZ SSDs. OCZ squats in a corner and squeezes out a lot of trash. Even if the Vector is brilliant, OCZ have already shit all over their reputation. Why do you think they are falling into bankruptcy?

I completely agree.

Funny how you reference three actually real world reliable brands as comparison to the trash OCZ spits out.

It's simple pure fact that the failure rates of the entire Vertex and Agility lines are totally abhorrent.