Latex products developer Vystar Corp. of Gwinnett County tapped longtime counsel Greenberg Traurig partner Gerald Baxter fo
r work on its plans to issue stock to a venture capital company.
Universal Capital Management Inc., a publicly traded venture capital company based in Wilmington, Del., is an investor in Vystar, according to regulatory documents. UCM also provides management services, strategic planning, investment banking consultation and other services to Vystar. As payment for those services, Vystar intends to issue 600,000 shares of common stock to UCM.
The transaction is described in Vystar’s prospectus as an initial public offering. Baxter declined to comment, citing the Securities and Exchange Commission’s “quiet period” rules for companies in the midst of preparing for an IPO.
Vystar, based in Duluth, owns the rights to a technology used to make natural rubber latex products. The technology, which is branded under the name Vytex, reduces “antigenic protein in natural rubber latex products made with Vytex to virtually undetectable levels,” according to the company’s prospectus. “Allergic reactions to untreated latex are a significant detriment affecting numerous individuals globally,” the company said.
In April, Vystar signed a contract with a Malaysian company to commercially manufacture its products.
Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll partner Kean DeCarlo in Atlanta and Dergosits & Noah partner Michael Dergosits in San Francisco are listed in U.S. Patent & Trademark Office records as intellectual property counsel to Vystar.