Publication date

  • March 24, 2015

Tobii announces its intention to launch an initial public offering and listing on Nasdaq Stockholm

NOT FOR PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION OR RELEASE, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, SWITZERLAND, SOUTH AFRICA, SINGAPORE, HONG KONG OR JAPAN, OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH THE PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION OR RELEASE WOULD BE UNLAWFUL.

Stockholm, 24 March 2015—Tobii AB (publ) (“Tobii” or the “Company”) today announced its intention to launch an Initial Public Offering (the “IPO” or “Offering”) and list its shares on Nasdaq Stockholm. Tobii is the global leader in eye tracking, a technology that is used to gain insights in human behavior or as a means to interact with computers and other devices.

Through the IPO and listing on Nasdaq Stockholm, Tobii will expand its shareholder base, raise capital and enable the Company to access the Swedish and international capital markets, thereby increasing financing alternatives to support the Company´s sales and profit development. The Tobii Board of Directors considers the new share issue and listing of the Company’s shares to be a logical and important step in Tobii’s development in order to take advantage of growth opportunities and to further strengthen the Company’s market position and increase the awareness of Tobii and its technology.

Nasdaq Stockholm has decided to admit the Company’s shares to trading, subject to customary conditions. Depending on current market conditions, the IPO is expected to be completed during the second quarter of 2015.

The IPO will comprise of primarily new shares to be issued by Tobii. The shares will be offered to qualified institutional investors in Sweden and internationally, as well as to the general public in Sweden. Tobii is targeting gross proceeds of approximately SEK 450 million. Tobii intends to use the main part of the net proceeds for further R&D investments to develop the Company’s technology for new potential volume markets.

Henrik Eskilsson, CEO and co-founder, comments:

“Over the past decade, Tobii has proven the potential of its technology by building two profitable and cash flow-positive business units, Tobii Pro and Tobii Dynavox, each with a range of successful products. We will continue to grow these businesses which are benefitting from high market shares in two markets with long-term growth potential. In addition, we are now in the process of bringing eye tracking to volume markets such as PC gaming, computers and cars where the potential of eye tracking is significant. We have taken the first step already on this path, but much work and additional investments remain before we will reach broader adoption.”

Kent Sander, Chairman of the Board, comments:

“I am delighted with the development of Tobii’s three business units over the last few years and believe that the Company is excellently positioned to expand its market leadership position to new markets and application areas. The potential for continued profitable growth in these areas is significant. The founders and the management team have done an outstanding job in developing Tobii into the global leader in eye tracking. As a result, it has established eye tracking as a new method of research and an essential tool for communication for tens of thousands of people with special needs.”

Background to the Offering

Over the last 13 years, the founders of Tobii – Henrik Eskilsson, John Elvesjö and Mårten Skogö – and the entire Tobii team have built a company with two profitable business units that utilize the patented eye-tracking technology that Tobii has been developing since 2001. The third business unit is in an investment phase with future opportunities to establish the Company’s eye-tracking technology within consumer electronics and other volume markets.

Tobii Dynavox’ communication devices enable users with speech and/or motoric impairments to speak and access computers. To date, the business unit’s solutions have helped more than 20,000 users with conditions such as ALS, CP or spinal cord injury. The Company sees opportunity to grow this business unit further as the awareness of assistive technology for communication increases in many countries. Within this market, Tobii estimates its global market share exceeds 40%. This business unit had sales in 2014 of SEK 442 million and an operating margin of 12%, adjusted for restructuring costs and other costs related to an acquisition in May 2014 of one of Tobii’s leading competitors.

Tobii Pro uses Tobii’s patented eye-tracking technology to help universities and commercial companies gather unique insights in human behavior. Academic research institutes use Tobii’s eye-tracking solutions in, for instance, psychology, neurology, ophthalmology and sport science. Commercial companies use Tobii’s solutions for consumer research, usability testing, webpage and packaging design optimization. Tobii Pro’s customers comprise over 1,500 academic institutions (including 49 of the world's 50 top-rated universities) and over 2,000 companies, including large corporations such as Procter & Gamble, Microsoft, Alibaba, Ipsos, and Gfk. Tobii estimates that its global market share in this business area is close to 50%. In 2014, Tobii Pro had sales of SEK 167 million and an operating margin of 8%.

Based on the experienced gained from these specialized markets a third business unit, Tobii Tech, is focusing on bringing Tobii’s eye-tracking technology to new, larger volume markets such as PC gaming and computers, cars and medical equipment. To realize these plans Tobii Tech is further developing the existing eye-tracking technology to make it even smaller in format, reduce its costs and power consumption even more and to further enhance its performance. In 2014, Tobii Tech had sales of SEK 37 million – most of it internal sales to Tobii Dynavox and Tobii Pro – and reported an operating loss of SEK 122 million due to investments in research and development. This business unit invests heavily to capitalize on new volume market opportunities and, as a result, is expected to continue to report negative cash flows over the next few years due to continued investments in R&D.

Currently, Tobii has approximately 80 shareholders. The three founders have combined approximately 20% of the shares in the Company, while the largest single shareholder with 19% of the shares is a subsidiary to Investor AB.

Tobii covers the global market through its offices in Sweden (headquarters), the USA, China, Japan, Germany, the UK and Norway, along with a global network of resellers. In total, the Company has approximately 570 employees.

Carnegie Investment Bank AB (publ) has been retained as Global Coordinator and is together with ABG Sundal Collier acting as Joint Bookrunner.

**For more information, please contact
**Sara Hyléen, Corporate Communications Director of Tobii, tel: +46 70 9161641, email: sara.hyleen@tobii.com

About Tobii
Tobii is the global leader in eye tracking. Our vision is a world where all technology works in harmony with natural human behavior. Tobii has pioneered research in many fields and enables communication for tens of thousands of people with special needs. We also focus on changing how people interact with technology in computers, games and cars. Tobii operates through three business units: Tobii Dynavox makes specially designed computers that are controlled by eye movement or touch screens for use by people with special needs due to spinal cord injuries, CP, ALS or other medical conditions Tobii Pro develops and sells eye-tracking equipment and services used today by more than 2000 companies and 1500 research institutions, including 49 of the world’s 50 highest ranked universities. Tobii Tech further advances Tobii’s technology for new volume markets such as computer games, personal computers and cars. Tobii covers the global market through its offices in Sweden (headquarters), the USA, China, Japan, Germany, the UK, and Norway, along with a global network of resellers. The Group has some 570 employees and has achieved rapid annual growth since it was founded in 2001. For more information, please visit www.tobii.com.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

This announcement is not and does not form a part of any offer for sale of securities.

Copies of this announcement are not being made and may not be distributed or sent into the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan or any other jurisdiction in which such distribution would be unlawful or would require registration or other measures. The securities referred to in this announcement have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and accordingly may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act and in accordance with applicable U.S. state securities laws. The Company does not intend to register any offering in the United States or to conduct a public offering of securities in the United States.

Any offering of the securities referred to in this announcement will be made by means of a prospectus. This announcement is not a prospectus for the purposes of Directive 2003/71/EC (together with any applicable implementing measures in any Member State, the “Prospectus Directive”). Investors should not invest in any securities referred to in this announcement except on the basis of information contained in the aforementioned prospectus.

In any EEA Member State other than Sweden that has implemented the Prospectus Directive, this communication is only addressed to and is only directed at qualified investors in that Member State within the meaning of the Prospectus Directive, i.e., only to investors who can receive the offer without an approved prospectus in such EEA Member State.

This communication is only being distributed to and is only directed at persons in the United Kingdom that are (i) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the “Order”) or (ii) high net worth entities, and other persons to whom this announcement may lawfully be communicated, falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (all such persons together being referred to as “relevant persons”). This communication must not be acted on or relied on by persons who are not relevant persons. Any investment or investment activity to which this communication relates is available only to relevant persons and will be engaged in only with relevant persons. Persons distributing this communication must satisfy themselves that it is lawful to do so.

Matters discussed in this announcement may constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and may be identified by words such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intends,” “estimate,” “will,” “may,” "continue," “should” and similar expressions. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions. Although Tobii believes that these assumptions were reasonable when made, these assumptions are inherently subject to significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other important factors which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond its control. Such risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other important factors could cause actual events to differ materially from the expectations expressed or implied in this release by such forward-looking statements. The information, opinions and forward-looking statements contained in this announcement speak only as at its date, and are subject to change without notice.

Publication date

  • March 24, 2015