Sydney, July 3, 2006 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Mr John Nicholls has agreed to join the Board as a non-Executive Director immediately after the Prospectus for the previously announced capital raise is issued. Metal Storm (ASX: MST) advised the market on 8 May 2006 that it had signed a preliminary agreement with Harmony Capital Partners Pte Limited (Harmony) of Singapore to facilitate a Renounceable Rights Issue of $27.5 million in unsecured Convertible Notes with attaching Options. As the Prospectus is expected to be issued on 14 July 2006, Mr Nicholls' appointment will be confirmed soon after that date.
Mr Nicholls holds Bachelor of Commerce and Master of Business Administration degrees from the University of New South Wales. He is currently a non-executive director of a number of companies in Australia and Asia, including Harmony.
Mr Nicholls has had extensive experience with start-up and established companies, listed and unlisted, as CEO or a non-executive director. These companies, some established by himself, have been engaged in a wide range of activities including manufacturing, distribution, trading and merchant banking and were located in Japan, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, USA, Nigeria and Australia.
From 1967 to 1997, Mr Nicholls was a resident of various Asian countries. In late 1997, Mr Nicholls returned to Australia and since 1999 he has held non-executive directorships and advisory roles.
Executive Chairman Mr Terry O'Dwyer said "Mr Nicholls' extensive experience in a wide range of local and international companies will further complement the Board's existing skills base. John's experience will be invaluable as the Company continues its focus on the commercialisation of its technology".
Retirement of Dr Daniel L Alspach
Dr Dan Alspach has retired from the Boards of Metal Storm Limited and Metal Storm Inc. with effect from 1 July 2006. Over the three years since his appointment Dr Alspach has made a valuable contribution to the company through his considerable experience as a US defence contractor and his guidance on commercial issues. The board and management of Metal Storm express their gratitude to Dr Alspach and wish him well in his retirement.
About Harmony Capital Pte Limited
Harmony Capital Partners is a Singapore-based fund management company which manages a US$500m capacity Fund. The primary strategy of Harmony is to invest in special situations in Asia including Australia and New Zealand. The principals of Harmony, Suresh Withana and John Nicholls, are very familiar with the investment environment in Australia, particularly in the turnaround space with experience in a number of industry sectors. Harmony has a number of large investors in its fund including a cornerstone investor with a significant capital base providing it with the capability to execute investments ranging from US$5 million to US$50 million in size.
Contact
Australia
Ian Gillespie
Chief Operating Officer
Ph: +61 (0) 7 3221 9733
US
Peter Faulkner
SVP US Operations
Ph: +1 703 248 8218
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