The Control Bionics Limited (ASX: CBL) share price landed on the ASX boards this morning following the successful completion of its initial public offering (IPO). And what a start it has had!
At the time of writing, the medical technology company's shares are fetching $1.21.
This is more than double the Control Bionics listing price of 60 cents.
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What is Control Bionics?
Control Bionics is a medical technology company founded by former CNN anchor, Peter Ford.
Whilst working at CNN, Mr Ford taught himself to code and, inspired by Stephen Hawking, began developing software that would allow severely disabled people to operate and communicate using only their thoughts and neural signals.
The company notes that this technology is making a huge difference to the lives of those using it.
Furthermore, it has now gone well beyond basic communication and can allow those with diseases such as motor neurone disease (MND) to do things that haven't been possible for a long time. This includes gaming, controlling a television, and continuing with careers.
An example of the latter is Professor Justin Yerbury, who was recognised in this year's Australia Day honours list for his outstanding contribution to research regarding MND.
Using Control Bionic's NeuroNode system, Mr Yerbury has been able to continue teaching and researching in his field of Neurodegenerative Diseases at Wollongong University.
In FY 2020, the company generated $3.1 million in product revenue, which represented growth of 297% on FY 2019. And despite challenges presented by COVID-19, it has achieved unaudited revenue growth of approximately 41% in the first quarter compared to the prior corresponding period.
The Control Bionics IPO.
Control Bionics' IPO raised a total of $15 million at $0.60 per new share. This gave the company a $50 million market cap.
Management revealed that demand was so strong for its IPO that it was restricted to priority offer applications only after just a week.
Speaking about the offering, Chairman Roger Hawke commented: "The funds raised by this Offer will provide Control Bionics with working capital to execute our growth strategy in North America, increase our presence in Australia and prepare for entry to other priority markets including Japan. Additionally, funds will be used to support the marketing for existing products and to fund continued development of the hardware and software for a range of new, advanced applications."
