Do you have the same content strategies for local SEO and broader organic SEO? Improve your local SEO with these content marketing tips.
When you think about improving your local SEO, do you think about content?
Maybe not.
I’ll admit, it’s not always the first thing that comes to my mind.
But here’s the thing – content directly affects local SEO, and overlooking it is a huge mistake.
Yes, we might have limited text fields and places where we can input content.
Hear me out, though. There’s more to it than you might think.
You may know about the content Google likes to see on a website and how to optimize it to show up higher on search engine result pages.
But what about local content?
How is that different?
Here’s the thing, content strategies for local SEO and broader organic SEO aren’t actually that different.
No matter what, good informative content should always be a priority.
The main difference between local SEO and organic SEO content lies in user intent.
For local SEO, the user intent is to find goods or services near them, so they include a location indicator in their search query.
For example, you may search for [Kansas City hair salon], [hair salon in Kansas City], or [hair salon near me].
The location indicator tells Google to prioritize, showing the user results in their area.
This has been the case for a long time as Google has wanted to serve up more localized SERP features (like map results) for searches that it has perceived local intent.
So when you’re writing for local SEO, produce content that highlights your location.
Before you begin writing content for your site, you should always take a minute and think about your end game.
Ask yourself what goals you want to achieve.
And how can your content and messaging aid in completing your goals?
For example, say you want to improve your local SEO so more people visit your brick-and-mortar storefront to ultimately increase sales and revenue.
This is a great goal.
Good local SEO can help you achieve it, but creating a Google Business Profile listing is not enough.
Prioritize creating high-quality content that highlights both what you have to offer and your location.
If you haven’t already done so, now is a good time to perform a local content audit.
When running a content audit, ask yourself what your ideal local customer is searching for.
Are they researching what’s available in their target area?
Reading reviews?
Looking to visit a location now?
Searching for a provider to come to them or to have a product delivered?
Knowing this information helps you determine if there are gaps in your content you could fill to help rank better in local searches.
Another important piece of a local content audit is competitor research.
Check out your competitors’ websites to gather information regarding the keywords they’re targeting and the content structure to get their local clients or customers to convert.
Once you know who you’re targeting and what they’re searching for, you’re in a great position to begin writing.
Now, let’s dive into specific content strategies you can use to improve your local SEO.
Here’s a bit of good news, if you have a well-optimized website that includes quality content, there’s not much you’ll need to change to optimize it for local searches.
Just a few tweaks here and there.
One of the most important things you can do to improve local SEO is putting your address in the footer.
If you have fewer than ten locations, I recommend putting them all in your footer.
Additionally, it’s important to create dedicated landing pages for each location you serve.
Each of these pages should have original content specific to the area/location.
Do not simply copy and paste the information from one page to another, even if you do the same thing at all your locations.
This would be duplicate content, which could hurt your SEO.
General reminders for creating a good page:
Blogging is a powerful tool to provide your customers with useful information and set you up as an expert in your field.
Simply put, in the eyes of Google, it has the power to increase your expertise, authority, and trust (EAT).
But outside of this, blogging is a great way to highlight your location(s) and boost your local SEO.
First and most importantly, it provides Google with fresh content that reiterates where you’re located.
It also helps you target those pesky local keywords like “wine bar near me” that may be hard to rank for.
Additionally, blogging allows you to get backlinks from other local businesses.
And, it offers a chance for people to comment on or share your article, which are two things that improve local SEO.
But I’d be remiss if I didn’t remind you that one of the most important things you can do with a blog is share it – on social media and on any local lists that allow it.
Get comments, get likes, and drive local traffic to your articles.
Your Google Business Profile is the first and most obvious off-page location for local SEO content.
Adding content to your Google Business Profile is important when working on improving your local SEO.
You can do this in various ways, but the top priority should be optimizing your profile by including as much relevant information as possible.
You can add a description of your business, your hours, product information, and your services. For example, a food menu and photos for a restaurant.
When optimizing your Google Business Profile, make sure all the information you provide is correct.
If anything changes, such as your hours of operation, update your profile accordingly.
Another valuable thing you can do is post photos, current blog articles, relevant specials, and updated policies and procedures on your feed.
This communicates to Google that you’re an active listing to promote because you provide users with valuable information.
Ultimately, well-optimized Google Business Profiles receive more clicks and requests for directions.
A key part of building a good local SEO strategy is gathering reviews and responding promptly.
In terms of content, reviews on user-generated content carry a lot of weight.
A Note On The Map Pack …
Getting your business featured on the Map Pack is a big deal.
It allows users to see your listing first before scrolling through SERPs.
A few content-related strategies that can help you get one of the coveted spots in the Map Pack:
When it comes to SEO, Google is the major player for sure.
So, it’s no surprise that the major thing tied to local SEO is Google Business.
But, we shouldn’t overlook other local listing services like Bing Local, Yelp, Thumbtack, Yellowpages.com, Foursquare, and more – depending on our industry and focus.
Posting content and other updates gives your website a citation and boosts local credibility.
If you’re on these sites, don’t forget to give them some attention now and then and make sure you respond to any reviews you’ve earned – even if using data aggregation services to push data to third-party directories.
Your online reputation is important to Google and shouldn’t be forgotten.
As I’m sure you already know, social media helps SEO.
So having a Facebook and Instagram business listing is important.
It increases your audience, so your article gets more views.
And, more views means more opportunities for backlinks.
Ultimately, having a robust social media presence and posting useful content on your social feed impacts your EAT and makes you look more credible in the eyes of Google.
Good content is an essential part of a good SEO strategy.
In terms of local SEO, good content with location indicators prompts Google to rank you higher in local search results and the Map Pack.
Simply creating quality content for your site is not always enough. You should also share it to your Google Business Profile, other local listing sites, and your social media feeds to increase traffic and showcase your expertise and trustworthiness.
For more tips on content marketing, check out SEJ’s Complete Guide to Content Marketing.
For more guidance on local SEO, grab yourself a free copy of SEJ’s Local SEO e-book.
More resources:
Featured Image: GaudiLab/Shutterstock
Corey Morris serves as the President of Voltage. With seventeen plus years of experience in the digital marketing industry, he …
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Knowledge
by DP Taylor | Updated Aug. 5, 2022 – First published on May 18, 2022
Image source: Getty Images
We store a lot of data on this planet. One firm predicts that the “global datasphere” will reach 175 zettabytes by 2025.
Doesn’t sound like much? Consider this: A zettabyte is equivalent to 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 bytes. Still doesn’t compute? If each gigabyte in a zettabyte were a meter, it would span the distance of the Amazon River — the longest river in the world — more than 150,000 times, according to Cisco.
File archiving has become a must for modern companies. It’s a fundamental part of document control, enabling a company to monitor and manage the creation, distribution, and accessibility of important documentation.
So how do you implement file archiving in your organization? This guide will break down the essential elements and how to ensure you have the proper procedures in place.
An archive file is a collection of data for the purposes of storing it for later access. Archived files are computer files that typically contain multiple other computer files, including metadata. Essentially, it is many computer files compressed into one, making it easier to store information with less space required.
Archiving files is key to good records management for any organization since it prevents essential data that may need to be recalled later from being lost over time.
The process of document archiving is straightforward, but a manager must be careful that the process is done right to avoid corrupting or losing critical data and information.
Computer archiving begins with a document management system, so if you don’t have one, you must get one. Electronic filing system software is available from many different vendors. Some of the top solutions reviewed by The Ascent include DocSend, M-Files, and Box.
With a good software solution in place, you won’t have to do most of the archiving tasks manually, and this will end up being a time-saver for your organization. These systems also secure your files so they don’t fall into the wrong hands, either internally or from external threats from hackers.
To create an archive filing system, you must create a process for your organization. Draft a manual stating which documents should be archived and the process for achieving it based on the type of software you use. You may have separate filing systems for contracts, product data, customer information, and other types of data. Get feedback from your team before implementing this new process to be sure you cover all your bases.
You must standardize the process within your document management system across the content lifecycle in order to guarantee that everyone can access the archived files. For example, if the archive file extension differs by department, you’ll run into unnecessary obstacles. Make sure there aren’t substantive differences in the archiving process across departments.
The ability to archive information should not be limited to a few stakeholders. Everyone who creates and disseminates information should have the ability to archive files and data to be sure nothing is lost.
The configuration of your archiving system should be user-friendly and intuitive to your team. It should be organized so anyone can archive a file properly and retrieve a file easily. Your software should take care of much of this, but you may need to take some special steps depending on your organization’s needs.
Any document management software platform you choose should automatically track activity, whether it’s determining which users uploaded what files and when, or which users accessed archived files and made changes. Track this activity to see that your team is using the system properly and files are accessed and uploaded by the appropriate individuals.
On a regular basis — perhaps quarterly — review the archiving process in your electronic filing system and determine how it’s serving your organization. Is it taking up a lot of time to archive files? Can people easily access these files? Are unauthorized users being allowed to access files that should be limited to certain individuals?
Determine if any changes need to be made to your process and then make them. Continue to review the process periodically.
When you create an archive, you’re creating a massive repository of information that can be difficult to manage. These business document management tips will help you avoid pitfalls.
If no one is responsible, no one can be held accountable if a file isn’t archived properly, or if a document is accessed by an unauthorized user. You must designate ownership of certain files and data and delegate responsibilities to that individual laying out exactly what they must do with the file.
If people understand the expectations and you provide clear directions, you’ll find that your team will have an easier time complying with the new process.
Generally, it’s not a good idea to give everyone in your organization access to all archived files. For example, you may not want low-level employees having access to sensitive company financial data. Place necessary restrictions on who has access to archived data to be sure it’s protected.
Keep the data in a secure location, and upgrade security measures consistently. Your software platform should allow you to set permissions for certain files.
Should you hold onto a file forever, or should it have an expiration date? Decide how long files are stored based on what information is in them, and write that into your processes. Give someone the responsibility to monitor those dates and eliminate the file when necessary if your software doesn’t do this automatically.
For example, you may keep raw data indefinitely, but analysis of that data for only a few years before it becomes obsolete and no longer useful.
If you’re like many small businesses, archiving files is probably the last thing on your mind. After all, you’ve got clients to please and revenue targets to hit. Who cares if some random file you haven’t looked at in months goes missing or accidentally gets deleted?
The truth is that you never know how important information is until it’s gone. Take San Francisco-based computer programmer Stefan Thomas, who was in the news for having nearly $240 million in bitcoin locked away in a digital wallet. He got the bitcoins years ago as a reward for a cryptocurrency project when they weren’t worth that much, and he apparently misplaced the password. Now, after eight wrong guesses, he has two guesses left before the hard drive encrypts itself and destroys his fortune forever. Ouch!
Your company is constantly producing data, even when you don’t realize it. Someday you may need to refer back to it, perhaps for tax purposes, or maybe there’s some data from a past email marketing campaign that could give you a competitive advantage.
Either way, your data is much more valuable than you realize, so you must store it and protect it. Every day you delay, you put your company at risk, so implement an archiving system sooner rather than later.
DP Taylor is a business software expert writing for The Ascent and The Motley Fool.
We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers. The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.
The Ascent is a Motley Fool service that rates and reviews essential products for your everyday money matters.
Copyright © 2018 – 2022 The Ascent. All rights reserved.

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Book and magazine pages have met their match
I focus on printer and scanner technology and reviews. I have been writing about computer technology since well before the advent of the internet. I have authored or co-authored 20 books—including titles in the popular Bible, Secrets, and For Dummies series—on digital design and desktop publishing software applications. My published expertise in those areas includes Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Photoshop, and QuarkXPress, as well as prepress imaging technology. (Over my long career, though, I have covered many aspects of IT.)
The CZUR Shine Ultra Pro overhead book scanner captures and digitizes just about everything and offers several features designed to facilitate teaching, presenting, and online meetings.
The CZUR Shine Ultra Pro ($299) is the flagship model of the CZUR Shine series of overhead (a.k.a. book) scanners, as well as a sibling to the CZUR ET16 Plus that won an Editors’ Choice award in February 2018. It’s also a direct competitor to our more recent Editors’ Choice winner the IRIScan Desk 6 Pro Scanner and its own relative the Desk 6 Business. Like the two IRIScan models, the Shine Ultra Pro supports document pages up to tabloid size (A3 or 11 by 17 inches). What’s different is that it’s adjustable, folding up for storage and travel. And though it performs well with most types of media, the Ultra Pro isn’t, according to the company, the strongest book scanner in the CZUR stable—it’s a personal or consumer overhead scanner, while the ET16 Plus and ET18 Pro are professional-grade devices. Still, in my tests it capably scanned everything I threw at it, and it works well as a remote teaching and learning tool and for online conferences and presentations in small offices, workgroups, and classrooms.
Equipped with a 24-megapixel CMOS sensor, the Shine Ultra Pro is at the head of its class above the 13-megapixel Shine Ultra. (We’ll be reviewing the soon-to-be-released CZUR ET24 Pro shortly.) As I said, overhead scanners are often referred to as book scanners, but the company’s marketing material states that the Shine Pro scans books using CZUR’s curve-flattening algorithm while the Aura and ET models are recommended for superior book scanning or handling of the curved page view caused by a book’s binding.
As for the scanner itself, it comes in two parts, the main unit or elevated scanning head and the black work mat or pad on which you place materials to be scanned.
The pad, as mentioned, is big enough to hold tabloid-size pages with a little extra around the edges. The scanning unit sits on your desktop at the upper edge of the mat as shown in the image below.
Not only does the scanning unit fold for storage or transport, but the upright beam is also adjustable, allowing you to set the height of the 11.6-inch horizontal beam holding the lights and scanning sensor (or, more accurately, the camera). As you can see below, you can adjust the height to either 13.2 or 16.1 inches. The scanner’s base is 6.2 inches wide and 4.6 inches deep.
The horizontal beam houses a pair of LEDs, speakers, a microphone, and a 24-megapixel autofocus camera with 5,696-by-4,272-pixel resolution (maximum MP4 resolution 1,920 by 1,080). It captures A4 (letter-size) pages at 440 dots per inch (dpi) and A3 (tabloid-size) sheets at 320dpi. You can save your documents as image or searchable PDF files, Microsoft Word or Excel documents, and TIFF images in up to 180 languages.
While scanning, you can adjust the brightness of the LEDs with a small knob located on the base of the unit.
Like many overhead scanners, the Shine Ultra Pro comes with a foot pedal for initiating scans (or, technically, snapping pictures). IRIScan’s Desk 6 Business uses a button that sits beside the scanner, while the IRIScan Desk Pro ships with both a foot pedal and a desktop button.
Typically, scanners work by moving the content over their sensors or vice versa. Overhead scanners, by contrast, snap a picture of a whole page, capturing the image almost instantly (in about a second). Then the scanner and its accompanying software convert the image to the desired format and save it.
The Ultra Pro’s only connectivity option is USB 2.0, restricting usage to Windows and macOS machines equipped with the bundled CZUR Shine software. You can’t use it with your smartphone or tablet. None of the other overhead scanners we’ve tested recently supports wireless or network connections, either. The CZUR Shine program includes, among other features, tilt adjustment; auto-cropping; auto-scan with page-turning detection; punch-hole filling; bar code and QR code recognition; scanning and splitting multiple business cards; combining two-sided pages; repairing damaged pages; adding watermarks; and generating PDFs in a batch.
These, of course, are scanning features. You can also combine the microphone and speakers with the camera to perform overhead presentations and learning sessions, as well as recording videos. 
Since this and all overhead scanners shoot pictures instead of physically scanning pages, they all take about a second to capture each image. But that doesn’t include the time required to send the scans to your computer and process them; some formats, such as searchable (or editable) PDFs and Word and Excel docs, take a little longer than others. Nowadays, however, optical character recognition (OCR) converts scanned pages to editable text very fluently—unless, of course, you have an old or slow computer.
I ran my tests over a USB connection on our Intel Core i5 testbed running Windows 10 Pro and CZUR Shine. As expected, the Shine Ultra Pro snapped whatever I put on the pad in about a second, but the software took a few seconds to process each scan—but not really any longer than most current OCR and document management programs.
The most time-consuming part of the process is placing and removing content from the pad. As with most book scanners, I wasn’t able to process loose documents at more than about 15 to 20 pages per minute (ppm). When I scanned book pages using the timer, I was able to bump that up to about 28ppm. (These are about the same results I got while testing the two IRIScan overheads.) If you’re looking for a reasonably fast text document scanner, an overhead model may not be your best pick.
Frankly, conversions to both image and searchable PDF would have been much quicker if not for the time consumed loading and unloading the scanner. In any case, I didn’t encounter any real problems while scanning book pages, so I’m not sure why CZUR suggests you stick with presenting and teaching and choose another model for book scanning. (The forthcoming ET24 Pro boasts laser curve-flattening hardware instead of a software algorithm.) The software also supports scanning and managing business-card and financial data.
I should underscore that, even though I’ve griped about its modest throughput, the Ultra Pro was two to three times faster than the CZUR ET16 reviewed here back in 2018. Also, I scanned several color photos and magazine pages and was impressed with image quality, detail, and color accuracy, though I had to fiddle with the lighting knob a few times for the best results.
As with other desktop scanners these days, the Shine Ultra Pro’s OCR accuracy is excellent. Like the IRIScan book scanners, the CZUR converted both our Arial and Times New Roman font test pages error-free down to 6 points. Few books or documents contain text anywhere near that small. Image quality was as exceptional as you’d expect a 24-megapixel camera’s to be.
There’s a lot to like about the CZUR Shine Ultra Pro, especially its 24MP CMOS sensor (compared to the IRIScan Desk 6 Pro’s 21MP and Desk 6 Business’s 16MP). CZUR may call this a personal scanner, but it’s not short on professional-grade features, though it is smaller, lighter, and more portable than its comparably priced competitors. All this makes the Shine Ultra Pro a fine alternative to the Desk 6 Pro, our current favorite book scanner.
The CZUR Shine Ultra Pro overhead book scanner captures and digitizes just about everything and offers several features designed to facilitate teaching, presenting, and online meetings.
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I focus on printer and scanner technology and reviews. I have been writing about computer technology since well before the advent of the internet. I have authored or co-authored 20 books—including titles in the popular Bible, Secrets, and For Dummies series—on digital design and desktop publishing software applications. My published expertise in those areas includes Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Photoshop, and QuarkXPress, as well as prepress imaging technology. (Over my long career, though, I have covered many aspects of IT.)
In addition to writing hundreds of articles for PCMag, over the years I have also written for many other computer and business publications, among them Computer Shopper, Digital Trends, MacUser, PC World, The Wirecutter, and Windows Magazine. I also served as the Printers and Scanners Expert at About.com (now Lifewire).
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Delivered daily by 10 a.m., Pulse examines the latest news in health care politics and policy.
Delivered daily by 10 a.m., Pulse examines the latest news in health care politics and policy.
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By DANIEL PAYNE and KRISTA MAHR 
08/24/2022 10:00 AM EDT
With Megan R. Wilson and Megan Messerly
WELCOME TO WEDNESDAY PULSE, where we’re wondering if we have doppelgängers out there — and how much DNA we might share.
We want to hear from you (and your doppelgängers). Send us a note about what’s on your mind at [email protected] and [email protected].

A new strategy to extract five doses of the monkeypox vaccine from a one-dose vial seems to be falling short. | Joe Raedle/Getty Images
‘CHAOS’ FROM NEW MONKEYPOX PLAN — A new dose-splitting strategy announced earlier by the Biden administration this month was supposed to be a shot in the arm to the nation’s slow monkeypox immunization response.
Instead, it’s left state and local health officials accusing their federal counterparts of creative math, lamenting a paucity of vaccines and vaccinating a fraction of the patients they had planned to immunize just a week ago, Krista and Megan Messerly report.
The new federal guidance suggests five doses can be taken from each vial, which were initially meant to hold a single dose. And those administering the vaccine told POLITICO they’re routinely getting only three or four doses out of each vial through the new dose-splitting strategy.
Vaccine clinics have scrambled to rethink their strategies in light of the new recommendations and the wrinkles that have come with implementing them.
“The federal government has patted themselves on the back for how they’re accelerating the delivery of vaccines,” said Patrick Ashley, senior deputy director at Washington, D.C.’s Department of Health. “What they did is they moved numbers around.”
Federal officials heralded the move to split doses amid a vaccine shortage, saying it could fill the gaps. They’ve also asked state health officials to submit data on the new strategy, saying they could adjust the response based on new information.
But the move has turned out to be far more complicated than a simple multiplying of doses.
The government action — and fallout from it — comes as health experts emphasize the urgency of stamping out the spread of monkeypox, warning the virus could be in the U.S. for good if broad, sustained transmission continues.

Sen. Ron Wyden is requesting data on allegations of misleading Medicare Advantage and Part D marketing tactics; Medicare Advantage advocates are not happy. | Pool photo by Greg Nash
MEDICARE ADVANTAGE ADVOCATES PUSH BACK ON WYDEN INQUIRY — The Better Medicare Alliance is firing back at Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden after the Oregon Democrat sent an inquiry to more than a dozen states seeking data on allegations of misleading marketing tactics involved in marketing Medicare Advantage and Part D plans, Megan R. Wilson reports.
“Medicare Advantage plans’ marketing materials are already subject to careful regulation,” Mary Beth Donahue, the leader of the advocacy group, said in a statement. Those advertisements and marketing materials, Donahue said, must be approved by regulators and adhere to a 53-page set of federal guidelines.
“A full accounting of the facts will show what seniors have been telling us all along: Medicare Advantage, with its lower costs, added benefits, and improved health outcomes, delivers a better consumer experience that deserves continued support and protection,” Donahue said, citing polling that shows a vast majority of beneficiaries are happy with their plans.
Wyden’s letters to insurance commissioners in 15 states ask for information on consumer complaints and examples of misleading advertising or aggressive sales tactics. He cites a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services stat showing that complaints related to the marketing of Medicare Advantage and Part D products, largely from third-party marketing organizations, more than doubled from 2020 to 2021.
CMS said in a rulemaking earlier this year that some beneficiaries have been confused by the third-party organizations marketing the plans, noting some people may not be aware they’re enrolling into a new plan when talking to them over the phone.
While these organizations “can serve a role in helping beneficiaries find a plan that best meets their needs,” CMS wrote, “additional regulatory oversight is required to protect Medicare beneficiaries from confusing and potentially misleading activities.”
SENATOR DEMANDS PRESERVING FAUCI FILES — Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) sent a letter Tuesday to HHS demanding all communications and records involving Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease expert, and Francis Collins, the National Institutes of Health’s former director, be preserved for future investigations.
The request to retain all “documents, records, memoranda, research, correspondence, or other communication” related to Fauci comes just after he announced his plan to step down from his post leading the NIH before next year. Collins left his position last year.
It also comes as Republican lawmakers vow to investigate Fauci after he leaves.

COMING SOON TO AN ARM NEAR YOU — The U.S. and Europe are finalizing plans for updated, Omicron-specific Covid-19 boosters, likely just weeks away.
The Biden administration looks to start the rollout in September should the new formulation pass get approval from regulators.
The Pfizer formulation could be approved for those 12 and older and Moderna’s for those 18 and older. Younger authorizations could come in the future.
The U.S. government has purchased about 175 million doses of the shot.
In the European Union, a verdict on the new vaccines is expected Sept. 1, POLITICO’s Helen Collis reports. The companies began submitting data mid-summer, with governments looking to prepare for a possible fall and winter surge in cases.
The U.K. was the first country to approve the Omicron-specific shot, with its booster campaign beginning Sept. 5.
For countries where few people have first or second shots, the original formulation might have to be given widely before the Omicron-specific formulation is distributed.

ABORTION AT THE FRONT OF VOTERS’ MINDS — The number of voters who say abortion is “very important” to them in the midterms has jumped since March, according to a new Pew Research poll.
In August, 56 percent of voters said abortion was key to their vote — up from 43 percent in March. That puts it ahead of energy policies, immigration and foreign policy, though still well below the 77 percent of voters who see the economy as a top priority.
The overturning of Roe has set off new electoral strategies from Republicans and Democrats alike, and not just for seats in Congress.
Earlier polls have also shown abortion as a leading — and growing — issue, one that could be a key differentiator in the November elections.

EBOLA RETURNS IN THE DRC — A new case of Ebola has been confirmed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the World Health Organization said Tuesday.
The country has about 1,000 doses of Ebola vaccine, and it will send about 200 to the affected region. The most recent case was genetically linked to an earlier outbreak from 2018 through 2020. Another outbreak was reported in 2021, with 11 cases and six deaths.
“Ebola resurgences are occurring with greater frequency in the Democratic Republic of the Congo which is concerning. However, health authorities in North Kivu have successfully stopped several Ebola flare-ups and building on this expertise will no doubt bring this one under control quickly,” Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa, said in a statement.
TPOXX TRIAL IN THE U.K. — The orthopox antiviral used to treat monkeypox is being studied by Oxford University, which is looking to enroll 500 patients.
The study, called PLATINUM, has now recruited its first patients. It is a randomized, placebo-controlled trial in nonhospitalized patients.
More data on Tpoxx could lead to more approvals and, therefore, wider access within countries. The drug has been in relatively short supply globally but is thought to hold promise for monkeypox.
Countries worldwide have been discussing purchasing Tpoxx, often for the first time. The U.S. has a significant stockpile and hasn’t opted to grow that supply, insisting there’s enough, even given the outbreak.
The federal government has made thousands of doses available to the states, though some patients have reported problems getting the treatment.

The plan to stretch monkeypox doses is already facing challenges, Stat’s Helen Branswell and Theresa Gaffney report.
Gregg Gonsalves reflects on the Fauci era in a New York Times essay.
The slow process to rename monkeypox is still ongoing, The New York Times’ Andrew Jacobs reports.

© 2022 POLITICO LLC

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DGAP-News: ABIVAX / Key word(s): Miscellaneous
ABIVAX: Abivax announces successful oversubscribed EUR 49.2M cross-over financing with top-tier US and European Biotech investors
02.09.2022 / 07:30 CET/CEST
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ABIVAX ANNOUNCES SUCCESSFUL OVERSUBSCRIBED EUR 49.2M CROSS-OVER FINANCING WITH TOP-TIER US AND EUROPEAN BIOTECH INVESTORS
This financing was subscribed by new and existing US and European biotech investors, led by TCGX, with the participation from Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners, Deep Track Capital, Sofinnova Partners, Invus and Truffle Capital
Proceeds to be primarily used for further advancing the obefazimod global phase 3 clinical study program in ulcerative colitis, expanding the cash runway to the end of Q1 2023
The funding consists of a EUR 46.2M reserved equity capital increase and a EUR 2.9M issuance of royalty certificates
PARIS, FRANCE, September 2^nd, 2022 – 7.30 a.m. (CEST) – Abivax (Euronext Paris: FR0012333284 – ABVX) (the “Company”), a phase 3 clinical-stage biotechnology company harnessing the immune system to develop novel treatments for inflammatory diseases, viral diseases and cancer, today announces the successful completion of an oversubscribed EUR 49.2M financing with high-quality US and European biotech specialist investors, led by TCGX, with participation from Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners, Deep Track Capital, Sofinnova Partners, Invus, and Truffle Capital through the completion of two transactions: (i) a reserved capital increase of approximately EUR 46.2M through the issuance of 5,530,000 newly-issued shares with a nominal value of EUR 0.01 per share (the “New Shares”), representing 33% of its current share capital, at a subscription price of EUR 8.36 per share (the “Capital Increase”) and (ii) the issuance of royalty certificates (the “Royalty Certificates”) for an amount of EUR 2.9M (together with the Capital Increase, the “Transaction”).
Prof. Hartmut J. Ehrlich, M.D., CEO of Abivax said: “We are excited to announce the successful completion of Abivax’s oversubscribed capital increase, along with the issuance of royalty certificates that jointly amount to EUR 49.2M. With these new financial resources, we will pursue the Company’s strategic priority to conduct and timely complete our late-stage global clinical phase 3 program of obefazimod for the treatment of ulcerative colitis. Following the compelling results of the previous obefazimod maintenance studies in UC, we are confident to confirm its excellent safety and efficacy profile in the upcoming phase 3 induction and maintenance studies. There is still a very high need for novel therapeutic management options that offer a constant and long-lasting improvement of the quality of life of patients suffering from chronic inflammatory diseases. Abivax is highly committed to fully exploit the anti-inflammatory potential of our lead compound obefazimod across different indications, starting with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis.”
Didier Blondel, CFO of Abivax, added: “We are pleased that Abivax could attract new top-tier US biotech investors, TCGX, Venrock and Deep Track Capital, as well as our existing US and European biotech investors, for the capital increase and royalty certificates. The commitment of these investors, especially considering the currently very challenging financing environment, is an important confirmation of the potential of obefazimod in ulcerative colitis and the entire chronic inflammatory disease field. Based on our current assumptions, our cash runway has been extended until end of Q1 2023. We will make targeted use of these financial resources, mainly for the conduct and completion of our phase 3 clinical program in order to provide obefazimod as a long-lasting and effective treatment to patients in need and to maximize shareholder value. We are committed to completing this funding in due course through additional non-dilutive and dilutive financial resources in order to secure the full financing of our UC phase 3 program.”
Reasons for the issuance and use of the net proceeds of the Transaction, equal to EUR 46M
The planned use of the net proceeds of the Transaction is, based on the Company’s current plans, as follows (on an indicative basis):
Launch and continuation of the clinical programs of obefazimod (ABX464), the Company’s lead product in advanced development:
For ulcerative colitis (UC): continuation of the phase 2a and phase 2b maintenance studies and continuation of the global pivotal phase 3 program, which was initiated in the first half of 2022. The phase 3 program will combine two induction studies and one single maintenance study, involving a total of 1,200 patients and over 600 clinical study sites, mainly in North America, Europe and Asia. The first patient is expected to be enrolled into the phase 3 program during September 2022;
For rheumatoid arthritis (RA): continuation and completion of the phase 2a maintenance study; and
Continuation of the R&D work on obefazimod.
Close to 80% of the net proceeds of the Transaction will be allocated to the development of obefazimod as per the above (and primarily for the phase 3 program).
Financing of R&D and working capital and other general purposes of the Company, for around 8% of the proceeds; and
Redemption of (and payment of amounts payable pursuant to) existing indebtedness, for around 12% of the proceeds (approx. EUR 5.5M split between EUR 4.8M paid under the Kreos loans and EUR 0.7M paid under the OCEANE convertible bonds).
The Company expects that the proceeds from the Transaction will provide the Company with financial resources to fund its operations through Q1 2023, based on a prioritization of its UC program.
The additional cash needs of the Company (prior to the Transaction) for the upcoming 12-month period amount to approximately EUR 100M, i.e., EUR 54M, in addition to the net proceeds of the Transaction of EUR 46M.
To cover these additional cash needs, the Company is evaluating various different financing tools, both dilutive and non-dilutive. In particular the Company has initiated discussions with lenders with the aim of securing in the short term a mix of dilutive and non-dilutive financings for an additional amount of up to EUR 50M.
The Company may consider further equity financing.
In the absence of the required financing, the Company will review cost-cutting measures which could entail postponing or suspending some of its programs.
The total costs of the phase 3 UC program until the end of 2024, which is the expected date of the results of the two phase 3 induction studies, is estimated by the Company to amount to EUR 200M. Therefore, an additional non-dilutive and/or dilutive financing of EUR 154M is required to complement the EUR 46M proceeds of the Transaction.
Key characteristics of the Transaction
Capital increase
The New Shares are being issued through a capital increase, without existing shareholders’ preferential subscription rights, reserved to a specified category of investors (investors investing in the pharma sector) pursuant to the 19^th resolution of the Annual General Shareholders’ Meeting held on June 9, 2022.
In accordance with the Board of Directors’ internal rules, the representatives of Truffle Capital, Sofinnova Partners and of Santé Holding, as well as Mr. Philippe Pouletty, did not participate in the deliberations of the Board of Directors authorizing the Capital Increase.
The number of ordinary shares to be subscribed, the subscription price and the list of investors that may subscribe were decided by the Company’s Chief Executive Officer (Directeur Général), in accordance with a sub-delegation granted by the Company’s Board of Directors on August 31, 2022.
The subscription price of the New Shares was set at EUR 8.36, i.e. with a 9.6% premium to the last closing price (as of September 1, 2022).
Funds managed by Truffle Capital, which held a 30.5% stake in the Company, subscribed to the Capital Increase for an amount of EUR 1.6M corresponding to 197,000 New Shares. After the Capital Increase, funds managed by Truffle Capital will hold 23.8% of the share capital of the Company.
Sofinnova Partners, which held a 11.6% stake in the Company, subscribed to the Capital Increase for an amount of EUR 4.9M corresponding to 584,000 New Shares. After the Capital Increase, Sofinnova Partners will hold 11.3% of the share capital of the Company.
Santé Holding, which held a 3.6% stake in the Company, subscribed in the Capital Increase for an amount of EUR 0.8M corresponding to 101,000 New Shares. After the Capital Increase, Santé Holding will hold 3.2% of the share capital of the Company.
Settlement and delivery of the New Shares is expected to occur on or around September 7, 2022. Upon delivery, the New Shares will be fungible with the Company’s existing shares.
The New Shares will be admitted to trading on Euronext Paris with ticker symbol ABVX on September 7, 2022, and bear ISIN FR0012333284.
Royalty Certificates
The Royalty Certificates are being issued pursuant to a decision of the board of directors of the Company held on August 31, 2022, in accordance with the provisions of Article L. 228-36-A of the French Commercial Code to the same investors as the ones who participated in the Capital Increase.
The Royalty Certificates give right to their holders to royalties equal to 2% of the future net sales of obefazimod (worldwide and for all indications) as from the commercialization of such product. The amount of royalties that may be paid under the Royalty Certificates is capped at EUR 172M. The Royalty Certificates do not have any additional financial rights besides the right to royalties referred to above. In particular, the Royalty Certificates do not grant any financial rights on any other products that may be developed by the Company beyond obefazimod.
The subscription price for the Royalty Certificates has been set by the Company at EUR 2.9M and has been calculated based on impact of the underlying royalties on the net present value (NPV) of obefazimod evaluated at 1.6% by the Company. The NPV calculations depend strongly on assumptions made by the Company with regards to the chances of success of its studies, the commercialization calendar of obefazimod, the market size addressed by obefazimod, the market share of the product and the actualization rate (set at 14% by the Company). The NPV allocated to the Royalty Certificates has been subject to adjustments to reflect the discount which exists between the NPV of the Company’s program and their valuation by the market as reflected by the Company’s share price after taking into account the completion of the Transaction.
The Royalty Certificates have a term of 15 years and do not provide for an accelerated repayment in case of change of control. The Company may at any time reimburse in full the Royalty Certificates by paying an amount equal to the cap of EUR 172M minus any royalties paid prior to such reimbursement. The Royalty Certificates are subject to a one-year lock-up after which they will become freely transferable (in whole, but not in part). The Royalty Certificates will not be listed and will not be assigned an ISIN.
Lock-up agreements
In the context of the Capital Increase, the Company has agreed to a lock-up undertaking on the issuance or sale of shares or of securities giving access to the share capital, for a period of 90 calendar days, subject to certain customary exceptions or waiver.
The Company’s board members and key officers who own shares of the Company have agreed to a lock-up undertaking on the sale of shares or of securities giving access to the share capital, for a period of 90 calendar days, subject to certain customary exceptions or waiver.
Investors participating in the Capital Raise have agreed to a one (1) year lock-up on the New Shares subject to certain customary exceptions or waiver.
Impact of the Capital Increase on the share capital
Following settlement and delivery, the New Shares will represent 24.8% of the share capital of the Company and the Company’s total share capital will be EUR 223,131.85 divided into 22,313,185 shares.
For illustration purposes, a shareholder holding 1% of the Company’s share capital prior to the Capital Increase, will hold 0.75% of the Company’s share capital upon completion of the Capital Increase (or 0.69% on a fully-diluted basis).
 
Ownership interest
(%)
On a non-diluted basis
On a fully-diluted basis⁽¹⁾
Before the issuance of the New Shares
1.0000%
0.8857%
After the issuance of the New Shares
0.7522%
0.6856%
(1) After issuance of 2,165,127 new shares resulting from the exercise of all the existing dilutive securities (warrants, founder warrants (BSPCE), free share allocations, and convertible bonds).
Evolution of the shareholding structure following the Transaction
The shareholding structure of the Company prior to the issuance of the New Shares is set forth below:
Shareholders
Number of shares on a non-diluted basis
% of capital on a non-diluted basis
% of voting rights on a non-diluted basis
% of capital on a fully-diluted basis
% of voting rights on a fully-diluted basis
Holding Incubatrice
210,970
1.26%
1.47%
1.11%
1.34%
Truffle Capital
5,112,579
30.46%
41.38%
26.98%
37.83%
Sofinnova Partners
1,945,739
11.59%
14.92%
10.27%
13.64%
Santé Holding
602,080
3.59%
2.61%
3.69%
2.77%
Management
138,371
0.82%
1.20%
4.56%
3.96%
Board (except Truffle Capital, Sofinnova Partners and Santé Holding)
275,000
1.64%
1.19%
1.88%
1.41%
Employees
6,914
0.04%
0.03%
0.35%
0.26%
Consultants
400
0.002%
0.002%
0.24%
0.18%
Others*
630,689
3.76%
3.23%
9.43%
7.53%
Treasury shares
10,000
0.06%
0.00%
0.05%
0.00%
Float
7,850,443
46.78%
33.98%
41.43%
31.07%
Total
16,783,185
100.00%
100.00%
100.00%
100.00%
* Other: long-standing minority shareholders or stock subscription warrant (BSA)/founder warrant (BCE) holders, Kepler Cheuvreux (based on the ownership disclosure thresholds declared on July 3, 2019) and former employees of the Company, former Board members and certain committee members.
 
The issuance of the New Shares will have the following impact on the allocation of the share capital and the voting rights of the Company:
Shareholders
Number of shares on a non-diluted basis
% of capital on a non-diluted basis
% of voting rights on a non-diluted basis
% of capital on a fully-diluted basis
% of voting rights on a fully-diluted basis
Holding Incubatrice
210,970
0.95%
1.19%
0.86%
1.10%
Truffle Capital
5,309,579
23.80%
34.07%
21.69%
31.68%
Sofinnova Partners
2,529,739
11.34%
14.07%
10.33%
13.08%
Santé Holding
703,080
3.15%
2.46%
3.27%
2.60%
Management
138,371
0.62%
0.97%
3.53%
3.25%
Board (except Truffle Capital, Sofinnova Partners and Santé Holding)
275,000
1.23%
0.96%
1.46%
1.16%
Employees
6,914
0.03%
0.02%
0.27%
0.21%
Consultants
400
0.002%
0.001%
0.19%
0.15%
Other*
630,689
2.83%
2.61%
7.30%
6.18%
Treasury shares
10,000
0.04%
0.00%
0.04%
0.00%
Investors in the Transaction (other than Truffle Capital, Sofinnova Partners and Santé Holding)
4,648,000
20.83%
16.23%
18.99%
15.09%
Float
7,850,443
35.18%
27.42%
32.07%
25.49%
Total
22,313,185
100.00%
100.00%
100.00%
100.00%
* Other: long-standing minority shareholders or stock subscription warrant (BSA)/founder warrant (BCE) holders, Kepler Cheuvreux (based on the ownership disclosure thresholds declared on July 3, 2019) and former employees of the Company, former Board members and certain committee members.
Advisors
Bryan Garnier & Co. acted as Sole Global Coordinator and Bryan Garnier & Co. and LifeSci Capital LLC acted as Joint Bookrunner for the Capital Increase.
Dechert (Paris) LLP acted as legal advisor to the Company in connection with the Transaction.
Information available to the public and risk factors
Detailed information regarding the Company, including its business, financial information, results, prospects and related risk factors are contained in the Company’s 2022 Universal Registration Document filed with the French Autorité des marchés financiers (the “AMF”) on April 28, 2022 under number D.22-0372. This document, as well as other regulated information and all of the Company’s press releases, are available on the website of the Company (www.abivax.com).
Your attention is drawn to the risk factors related to the Company and its activities presented in chapter 3 of its 2022 Universal Registration Document. The 2022 Universal Registration Document is available on the websites of the Company (www.abivax.com) and the AMF (www.amf-france.org).
The Company will file, following completion of the Transaction, a prospectus to the AMF for the purposes of the listing of the New Shares, which will include a securities note (note d’opération) and an amendment to the 2022 Universal Registration Document. The amendment to the 2022 Universal Registration Document will include an update of the liquidity risk and the dilution risk. Additionally, the securities note will include specific risks related to the instruments issued in the context of the Transaction.
This press release does not constitute a prospectus under the Prospectus Regulation (as defined below) or an offer of securities to the public.
*****
About Abivax (www.abivax.com)
Abivax, a phase 3 clinical stage biotechnology company, is developing novel therapies that modulate the body’s natural immune machinery to treat patients with chronic inflammatory diseases, viral infections, and cancer. Abivax, founded by Truffle Capital, is listed on Euronext compartment B (ISIN: FR0012333284 – Mnémo: ABVX). Based in Paris and Montpellier, Abivax has two drug candidates in clinical development, obefazimod (ABX464) to treat severe inflammatory diseases, and ABX196 to treat hepatocellular carcinoma. More information on the company is available at www.abivax.com. Follow us on Twitter @ABIVAX_.
Contacts
Abivax                 
Communications
Regina Jehle
regina.jehle@abivax.com
+33 6 24 50 69 63
Investors
LifeSci Advisors
Ligia Vela-Reid
lvela-reid@lifesciadvisors.com
+44 7413 825310
Press Relations & Investors Europe
MC Services AG
Anne Hennecke
anne.hennecke@mc-services.eu
+49 211 529 252 22
Public Relations France
Actifin
Ghislaine Gasparetto
ggasparetto@actifin.fr
+33 6 21 10 49 24
Public Relations France
Primatice
Thomas Roborel de Climens
thomasdeclimens@primatice.com
+33 6 78 12 97 95
Public Relations USA     
Rooney Partners LLC
Jeanene Timberlake
jtimberlake@rooneypartners.com
+1 646 770 8858
 
Forward Looking Statements
This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, all statements other than statements of historical fact included in this press release about future events are subject to, without limitation, (i) change without notice, (ii) factors beyond the Company’s control, (iii) clinical trial results, (iv) regulatory requirements (including, among other things, the ability of the Company to obtain regulatory approval for its products), (v) increased manufacturing costs, (vi) market access, (vii) competition and (viii) potential claims on its products or intellectual property. These statements may include, without limitation, any statements preceded by, followed by or including words such as “target,” “believe,” “expect,” “aim,” “intend,” “may,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “plan,” “objective,” “project,” “will,” “can have,” “likely,” “should,” “would,” “could” and other words and terms of similar meaning or the negative thereof. Forward-looking statements are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties beyond the Company’s control that could cause the Company’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the expected results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. A description of these risks, contingencies and uncertainties can be found in the documents filed by the Company with the AMF, including the 2022 Universal Registration Document, as well as in the documents that may be published in the future by the Company. Furthermore, these forward-looking statements, forecasts and estimates are made only as of the date of this press release. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any obligation to, and will not, update any forward-looking statements, forecasts or estimates to reflect any subsequent changes that the Company becomes aware of, except as required by law.
This press release has been prepared in French and English. In the event of any differences between the texts, the French language version shall supersede.
Disclaimer
This press release may not be released, published or distributed, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States of America, Australia, Canada or Japan or to US persons. This press release and the information contained herein do not constitute either an offer to sell or purchase, or the solicitation of an offer to sell or purchase, securities of Abivax (the “Company”).
No communication or information in respect of the offering by the Company of any securities mentioned in this press release may be distributed to the public in any jurisdiction where registration or approval is required. No steps have been taken or will be taken in any jurisdiction where such steps would be required. The offering or subscription of the Company’s securities may be subject to specific legal or regulatory restrictions in certain jurisdictions. None of the Company and Bryan, Garnier & Co and LifeSci Capital LLC (the “Joint Bookrunners”) takes any responsibility for any violation of any such restrictions by any person.
This press release does not, and shall not, in any circumstances, constitute a public offering, a sale offer nor an invitation to the public in connection with any offer, of securities. The distribution of this document may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions. Persons into whose possession this document comes are required to inform themselves about and to observe any such restrictions.
This announcement is an advertisement and not a prospectus within the meaning of the Regulation (EU) 2017/1129, as amended (the “Prospectus Regulation”).
With respect to the Member States of the European Economic Area (including France) (the “Member States”), no action has been or will be undertaken to make an offer to the public of the securities referred to herein requiring a publication of a prospectus in any Member State. As a result, the securities of the Company may not and will not be offered in any Member State except in accordance with the exemptions set forth in Article 1(4) of the Prospectus Regulation, or under any other circumstances which do not require the publication by the Company of a prospectus pursuant to Article 1 of the Prospectus Regulation and/or to applicable regulations of that relevant Member State.
For the purposes of the provision above, the expression “offer to the public” in relation to any shares of the Company in any Member State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and any securities to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase any securities, as the same may be varied in that Member State.
This document does not constitute an offer to the public in France and the securities referred to in this press release can only be offered or sold in France pursuant to Article L. 411-2, 1° of the French Monetary and Financial Code (Code monétaire et financier) to qualified investors (investisseurs qualifiés) acting for their own account, as defined in Article 2 point (e) of the Prospectus Regulation. In addition, in accordance with the authorization granted by the general meeting of the Company’s shareholders dated June 4, 2021, only the persons pertaining to the categories specified in the 18th resolution of such general meeting may subscribe to the offering of New Shares.
This document may not be distributed, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States. This document does not constitute an offer of securities for sale nor the solicitation of an offer to purchase securities in the United States or any other jurisdiction where such offer may be restricted. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). The securities of the Company have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act, and the Company does not intend to make a public offering of its securities in the United States.
The distribution of this document (which term shall include any form of communication) is restricted pursuant to Section 21 (Restrictions on “financial promotion”) of Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (“FSMA”). This document is only being distributed to and directed at qualified investors as defined in Article 2(e) of the Prospectus Regulation as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (“EUWA”) who (i) are outside the United Kingdom, (ii) have professional experience in matters relating to investments and who fall within the definition of investment professionals in Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (as amended) (the “Financial Promotion Order”), (iii) are persons falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) (high net worth companies, unincorporated associations, etc.) of the Financial Promotion Order or (iv) are persons to whom this communication may otherwise lawfully be communicated (all such persons referred to in (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv) above together being referred to as “Relevant Persons”). This document must not be acted on or relied on in the United Kingdom by persons who are not Relevant Persons. Any investment or investment activity to which this document relates is available only to Relevant Persons, and will be engaged in only with such persons in the United Kingdom.
The securities referred to in this press release may not and will not be offered, sold or purchased in Australia, Canada or Japan. The information contained in this press release does not constitute an offer of securities for sale in Australia, Canada or Japan.
Prohibition of sales to European Economic Area retail investors
No action has been undertaken or will be undertaken to make available any securities to any retail investor in the European Economic Area. For the purposes of this provision:
the expression “retail investor” means a person who is one (or more) of the following:
a retail client as defined in point (11) of Article 4(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU (as amended, “MiFID II”); or
a customer within the meaning of Directive (EU) 2016/97, as amended, where that customer would not qualify as a professional client as defined in point (10) of Article 4(1) of MiFID II; or
not a “qualified investor” as defined in the Prospectus Regulation; and
the expression “offer” includes the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe the Company’s securities.
Consequently, no key information document required by Regulation (EU) No 1286/2014 (as amended, the “PRIIPs Regulation”) for offering or selling the New Shares or otherwise making them available to retail investors in the European Economic Area has been prepared and therefore offering or selling the New Shares or otherwise making them available to any retail investor in the European Economic Area may be unlawful under the PRIIPS Regulation.
Prohibition of sales to UK retail Investors
No action has been undertaken or will be undertaken to make available any securities to any retail investor in the United Kingdom.  For the purposes of this provision:
the expression “retail investor” means a person who is one (or more) of the following:
a retail client, as defined in Article 2(8) of Regulation (EU) № 2017/565, as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the EUWA; or
a customer within the meaning of the provisions of the FSMA and any rules or regulations made under the FSMA to implement Directive (EU) 2016/97, where that customer would not qualify as a professional client, as defined in point (8) of Article 2(1) of Regulation (EU) № 600/2014, as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the EUWA; or
not a qualified investor as defined in Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the EUWA; and
the expression “offer” includes the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe the Company’s securities.
Consequently no key information document required by Regulation (EU) № 1286/2014, as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the EUWA (the “UK PRIIPs Regulation”), for offering or selling the New Shares or otherwise making them available to retail investors in the UK has been prepared and therefore offering or selling the New Shares or otherwise making them available to any retail investor in the UK may be unlawful under the UK PRIIPs Regulation.
MIFID II product governance / Professional investors and ECPs only target market – The manufacturers’ target market assessment in respect of the New Shares has led to the conclusion that: (i) the target market for the New Shares is eligible counterparties and professional clients, each as defined in MiFID II; and (ii) all channels for distribution of the New Shares to eligible counterparties and professional clients are appropriate. Any person subsequently offering, selling or recommending the New Shares (a “distributor”) should take into consideration the manufacturers’ target market assessment; however, a distributor subject to MiFID II is responsible for undertaking its own target market assessment in respect of the New Shares (by either adopting or refining the manufacturers’ target market assessment) and determining appropriate distribution channels.

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As rising energy prices and a new gas levy in Germany are expected to triple fuel bills for consumers from autumn, pressure is mounting on the government to introduce a windfall tax on energy firms to fund further relief measures. But taxing "excessive" profits of energy companies has been a thorny issue for Germany's ruling coalition, with political resistance from a junior party and constitutional barriers. Germany's coffers have already been drained this year with two relief packages to mitigate the impact of rising energy prices on citizens, plus funds to upgrade the military and battle climate change.
The British Chamber of Commerce believes the UK is already in recession.
Starbucks named Laxman Narasimhan, a veteran of PepsiCo and other consumer brands, as its next chief executive on Thursday.
Barbiecore has been on the tip of everyone's tongue — and now pink-themed travel is also having a boom. Here are 7 pink hotels and holiday homes to book.
Ms Trevelyan was speaking to the Australian-British Chamber of Commerce on the final day of her visit on Friday.
BERLIN (Reuters) -Volkswagen's management and supervisory boards will meet on Monday to discuss whether the long-anticipated listing of sports car brand Porsche should go ahead in late September or early October, the carmaker said on Saturday. A decision will also be made on whether Volkswagen approves of the sale of 25% plus one share of ordinary shares in Porsche AG to Porsche SE, as laid out in a framework agreement by the two parties in February. That would give the Porsche and Piech families, which control Porsche SE, a blocking minority – a step that would bolster their push for greater control of the carmaker that was founded by their ancestor Ferdinand Porsche in 1931.
Ukrainian officials are scouring the UK for foundries to make cannon artillery casings as the country burns through thousands per day, The Telegraph understands.
BRUSSELS/BERLIN (Reuters) -The European Commission is seeking emergency powers to force companies to make key products and stockpile goods in a crisis or else face fines, according to an EU document seen by Reuters on Friday. The move is contested by some EU countries worried about a power grab by the EU executive, while critics say it smacks of China-style state capitalism. The Commission will need to thrash out details with EU countries and EU lawmakers before the proposal can become law in a process that will take months.
Tension over giant turbines that Moscow blames for the reduction of flows via the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline has put the focus on the equipment it needs to operate. The crucial part is SGT-A65 (Trent 60), a Siemens Energy turbine that is 12 metres long, weighs 20 tonnes, and needs to be transported back to Gazprom's Nord Stream Portovaya compressor station following maintenance in July. The St. Petersburg-based company has said Canadian, EU and UK sanctions make delivery of a Siemens turbine to the Portovaya compressor station impossible.

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Passenger traffic numbers for July
reported by Southwest
Florida International Airport
During July, 671,225 passengers traveled through Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) in Fort Myers. This was a decrease of 17.6 percent compared to July 2021; however, it was still the second-best July in the 39-year history of the airport. Year-to-date, passenger traffic is up 13 percent compared to last year.
The traffic leader in July was Delta with 177,355 total passengers. Rounding out the top five airlines were Southwest (132,296), American (122,450), JetBlue (72,852) and United (68,847).
Southwest Florida International Airport had 5,213 aircraft operations, a decrease of 26 percent compared to July 2021. Page Field (FMY) saw 16,000 operations, a 58 percent increase compared to July 2021, which made it the best single month at FMY in nearly 40 years.
Southwest Florida International Airport served more than 10.3 million passengers in 2021 and is one of the top 50 U.S. airports for passenger traffic.
For more information, visit flylcpa.com or facebook.com/flyRSW.
Priority Marketing adds
Wilson as senior copywriter
Priority Marketing has added Ashley Wilson as the firm’s senior copywriter, a role in which she drafts strategic creative messaging for the full range of marketing tools, including advertising, brochures, video, direct mail, email, social media and websites.
Wilson brings 16 years of experience in marketing research, project coordination and copywriting to the team, contributing expertise as she collaborates with account managers, graphic designers, digital marketing specialists, web developers and others to execute copywriting projects customized to achieve each client’s marketing goals.
Before joining Priority Marketing, Wilson was a communications and marketing coordinator for the Washington, D.C.-based Association for Change Management Professionals, where she executed all internal and external marketing and communications for a global audience while serving as the leader for the organization’s aesthetic, brand and identity.
Wilson earned a bachelor of science degree in advertising and a master of science degree in integrated marketing and management communication from Florida State University.
Founded in 1992 by Teri Hansen, APR, Priority Marketing is Southwest Florida’s largest full-service marketing, advertising, public relations, website development and digital marketing agency celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2022. The firm has grown to include more than 50 strategists whose areas of expertise include brand development, public relations, graphic design, social media and email marketing, media planning, web solutions, event planning, video production, digital advertising and more.
For more information, please call 239-267-2638 or visit PriorityMarketing.com.
Women in Business program to
spotlight self-defense class Sept. 7
The Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce’s Women in Business Committee will host a networking program from 4-6 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 7, that will spotlight self-defense.
Hosted in partnership with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, the program will feature a special self-defense class highlighting physical techniques and strategies to evade potentially dangerous situations. The event will be hosted at X3 Performance and Physical Therapy, located at 14651 Jetport Loop, #150, in Fort Myers. The September event is sponsored by Orthopedic Specialists of SW Florida and KTD Accounting is the scholarship sponsor. Women in Business’ Annual Sponsor is HBKS Wealth Advisors and HBK CPAs & Consultants.
The event’s nonprofit spotlight is Abuse Counseling & Treatment, Inc., a private, not-for-profit agency committed to serving victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking.
The Women in Business program is $10 for chamber members and $20 for future members. Attendees can register in advance at FortMyers.org or call 239-332-2930.
Serving Lee County and surrounding areas since 1989, the Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce, Inc. is a business organization of professionals who support and promote a progressive, sustainable community. The Chamber represents over 725 businesses, professionals, and individuals throughout Lee County, providing opportunities for members to participate in a variety of meaningful networking, educational and community- and business-focused programs and events.
The Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce is located at 2310 Edwards Drive in downtown Fort Myers. For additional information regarding membership opportunities or events please call 239-332-2930 or visit www.fortmyers.org.
For the latest news and updates, follow the chamber on Facebook at www.facebook.com/gfmcc.
Pavese Law Firm welcomes two
Pavese Law Firm has announced recent law school graduates Brett G. Bleier and Luke L. Kane have joined the firm.
Bleier is a member of the firm’s condominium & homeowners/transactional law group. His practice will encompass a broad range of matters including enforcement of document restrictions, protecting and defending the association’s interest in its property and governing documents, simple sales agreements, and complex contract negotiations.
Bleier studied international relations at the James Madison College of Michigan State University. After graduating, he moved to Naples where he began law school at Ave Maria School of Law. He received his juries doctorate degree after graduating magna cum laude.
Kane is a member of the firm’s litigation group where he will be representing clients in a wide range of civil litigation and business law matters.
Kane graduated from Florida State University, cum laude, with a bachelor’s degree in political science and a minor in communications.
Kane was raised in Southwest Florida and attended St. Francis Xavier and Bishop Verot Catholic High School.
Pavese Law Firm is a full-service law firm with offices in Fort Myers, Cape Coral and West Palm Beach. The firm provides a broad range of legal services for individuals, families, small businesses and large corporations. Practice areas include agricultural, banking and finance, business and corporate, civil litigation, condominium and homeowners’ association law, construction, employment, environmental and water, estate planning, probate and trusts, marital and family, land use and government, and real estate law. Established in 1949 as a one-person general practice firm, Pavese Law Firm has grown into one of the largest legal practices in Southwest Florida.
For more information, visit paveselaw.com.
Iron Ridge Insurance Services
adds executive risk
manager/client advisor
Iron Ridge Insurance Services has welcomed Susan L. Dusenbery as executive risk manager/client advisor. As Iron Ridge continues to grow – more than doubling in the last two years – Dusenbery brings proven experience as an insurance industry professional specializing in all aspects of risk management, relationship building, and strategic planning.
Dusenbery’s experience encompasses all aspects of risk management, insurance, project management, fixed asset and finance, problem resolution, data analysis, team leadership, relationship building and strategic thinking. She has experience in designing comprehensive risk management processes, procedures, and policies to accomplish organizational objectives.
Dusenbery earned a master of business administration from WIU, Illinois, and a bachelor of arts degree in business administration, accounting, from Midway College, Kentucky. She also holds ARM and CSRM certifications.
Iron Ridge Insurance Services primarily serves commercial clients, with particular focus on healthcare, architects and engineers, legal practices, condo and homeowners’ associations, and religious organizations.
For an evaluation of commercial or personal insurance coverage, contact Iron Ridge Insurance Services at 800-775-8526 or info@IronRidgeUS.com.
Elite DNA Behavioral Health, a comprehensive behavioral and mental health care provider, recently hosted a …
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