Trendlines Announces Acquisition of Portfolio Company ApiFix Ltd. by OrthoPediatrics Corp.

MISGAV, Israel, April 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Trendlines Group Ltd. ("Trendlines" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the 100% acquisition of portfolio company ApiFix Ltd. ("ApiFix"), a company focused on non-fusion treatment of progressive adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, by Nasdaq-traded OrthoPediatrics Corp ("OrthoPediatrics"), a company focused exclusively on advancing the field of pediatric orthopaedics (the "Acquisition"). The Acquisition was signed and closed on 1 April 2020; Trendlines held 18.62% of ApiFix at closing.

ApiFix shareholders are to receive an aggregate of 934,783 new common shares of OrthoPediatrics stock (NASDAQ: KIDS) and US$2 million at closing, plus guaranteed milestone payments (in the form of cash and OrthoPediatrics shares) and an earnout over a period of four years. The Company is entitled to its proportionate share of the consideration for the Acquisition based on its 18.62% interest in ApiFix at closing. The Company will provide further updates as and when it receives its proportionate share of the milestone payments and/or earnout payments.

The exit by Trendlines from its direct shareholdings of ApiFix pursuant to the Acquisition had contributed positively to the consolidated earnings per share and net assets per share of the Group for the financial year ended 31 December 2019¹ ("FY2019"). For the financial year ending 31 December 2020, Trendlines' ApiFix holdings (part of "Investments in Portfolio Companies" balance sheet item) will be converted into cash, short- and long-term receivables, and short- and long-term investments.

Information about ApiFix

Founded in 2011 with investment from and the active involvement of Trendlines, in addition to support from the Israel Innovation Authority, ApiFix is officed at Trendlines' Israel headquarters and in Boston, Massachusetts. ApiFix is a leading motion-preservation scoliosis correction company; their Minimally Invasive Deformity Correction (MID-C) system has U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and CE Mark approvals. When compared to both traditional spinal fusion and tethering procedures, the benefits of the MID-C system include measurable reductions in surgery time, blood loss, hospitalization, recovery time, and complication rates. Most significantly, the system is removable and avoids permanently limiting range of motion in these young patients.

ApiFix's unique technology has strong intellectual property protection, including 46 issued patents and 25 patent applications worldwide.  The company is managed by Boston-based executive Paul Mraz who has nearly 30 years' spine and orthopaedic medical device experience, and serial inventor and entrepreneur Uri Arnin, founding CEO, inventor, and current CTO – under the leadership of ApiFix board chairman, medical device industry executive, and investor, Ed Roschak.  Paul, Uri, and the entire Israel-based ApiFix team will join OrthoPediatrics.

Trendlines' Chairman and CEO, Todd Dollinger, commented, "The acquisition of ApiFix by OrthoPediatrics will expand ApiFix's business under the global leader of the pediatric orthopedics community. We look forward to OrthoPediatrics bringing market changing scoliosis treatment to pediatric patients worldwide with the ApiFix alternative that fills the treatment gap between non-operative therapies and irreversible spinal fusion.

We are especially pleased to make this announcement in the time of COVID-19 – and worldwide uncertainty, demonstrating our unwavering commitment to growing shareholder value through creating and building companies to improve the human condition."

About The Trendlines Group

Trendlines is an innovation commercialization company that invents, discovers, invests in, and incubates innovation-based medical and agricultural technologies to fulfill its mission to improve the human condition. As intensely hands-on investors, Trendlines is involved in all aspects of its portfolio companies from technology development to business building. Trendlines' shares are traded on the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX: 42T) and in the United States as an American Depositary Receipt (ADR) on the OTCQX (OTCQX: TRNLY).

Forward Looking Statement

Statements in this press release that are not statements of historical or current fact constitute "forward-looking statements." Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other unknown factors that could cause the Company's actual operating results to be materially different from any historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In addition to statements that explicitly describe these risks and uncertainties, readers are urged to consider statements that contain terms such as "believes," "belief," "expects," "expect," "intends," "intend," "anticipate," "anticipates," "plans," "plan," to be uncertain and forward looking. The forward-looking statements contained herein are also subject generally to other risks and uncertainties that are described from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

¹Please refer to the "Financial Highlights and Review" section of the Company's Annual Report for FY2019 for further information

Investor Contact Information

Israel:
Shira Zimmerman
The Trendlines Group
[email protected]  
Tel: +972-72-260-7000

Singapore and China:
Reyna MEI
Financial PR
[email protected] 
Tel: +65-6438-2990

SOURCE The Trendlines Group