SurePure is merging with Soefl – an OTCBB listed company in order to make the South African company a US reporting entity with access to US capital markets.
A spokesperson for SurePure said this is a step on the road to gaining a full NASDAQ listing within the next 18 to 24 months.
Explaining the value of such a move, the spokesperson said: “A listing on NASDAQ would result in increasing exposure for the technology as well as further increasing the group’s access to capital markets as it drives the business commercialisation objectives.”
SurePure’s plans revolve around a new UV photo sterilisation technology for cloudy or ‘turbid’ drinks such as milk, beer, fizzy drinks and fruit juice.
Recent deal and future plans
Earlier this year, the company announced that SAB South Africa had begun using the light technology instead of pasteurisation to purify the dextrose sugar syrup used to makes its fruit alcohol brands.
Now SurePure is looking to other markets but there are regulatory hurdles to overcome. In the US Dairy Management has submitted an application to the FDA on behalf of the company and in Europe SurePure is awaiting Novel Foods acceptance. Both are expected shortly.
“Both the FDA and Novel Foods approval processes are well underway and the expectation is that these should be completed during Calendar 2011,” said the SurePure spokesperson.
SurePure believes that its technology has the potential to bring significant energy and water savings in the dairy and beverage industries. In the case of SAB South Africa, it claimed that the light technology delivered 82 per cent energy savings compared to pasteurisation.
Such systems have been used for some time by brewers for water purification but SurePure says its product broadens the reach of the technology as it can be used for cloudy liquids.