ClearOne told rAVe that earlier this month it has meaningfully improved its balance sheet through the pay-down of its remaining aggregate debt, the receipt of a significant income tax refund, and the completion of a non-exclusive patent cross-licensing agreement.

On Dec. 17, 2023, the company completed the final $1 million principal payment on its $3 million in senior secured convertible notes (the “Notes”), initially issued in December 2019. With this final payment, the company’s aggregate debt has now been fully repaid and eliminated.

In conjunction with the repayment, the ability to convert the Notes into shares has also expired. The 340,909 warrants issued with the Notes remain outstanding and expire on Dec. 17, 2026, unless exercised earlier. On Dec. 8, 2023, the Company received a $6.9 million income tax refund that was already reported as a receivable in the balance sheet as of Sept. 30, 2023 in its last quarterly report. With the receipt of this refund, ClearOne’s cash and marketable securities balance has increased to over $23 million.

Furthermore, ClearOne has recently finalized a non-exclusive patent cross-licensing agreement, as previously disclosed in the company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on Dec. 27, 2023. ClearOne says it expects to receive an additional $4 million in cash from the agreement in the first quarter of 2024.

“With over $23 million in cash and no debt, and more cash to come, we are entering the new year well-positioned to execute on our growth objectives,” said Derek Graham, CEO of ClearOne. “We believe that our robust balance sheet provides us a strong financial foundation as we work to capture additional market share, finalize our manufacturing transition, and continue new product rollouts in 2024.”