Portola Pharmaceuticals, the US-based biopharmaceutical company backed by biotech Biogen Idec, has set the range of its upcoming initial public offering [IPO] on Nasdaq at $13 per share to $16 a share, in its Securities and Exchange Commission S-1 filing on May 7, 2013. Assuming an IPO mid-point price of $14.50 per share, Portola estimates that net proceeds will be $89.2 million, or approximately $103.2m if the underwriters (co-led by Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse) exercise their over-allotment option in full.
Any $1.00 variation in the assumed IPO price of $14.50 per share would increase (or decrease) net proceeds by $6.4m.
Portola’s development portfolio consists of four compounds. Of the net proceeds from the IPO, together with existing cash ($124.6m as of March 31, 2013), $135m will be used to fund Portola’s clinical program for its lead compound Betrixaban, designed to treat venous thromboembolism, $28m to fund development of PRT4445, its second lead compound designed to reverese anticoagulent activity, $15m to fund a Phase 1/2 study in hematologic cancers for PRT2070, and the balance to fund working capital, capital expenditures and other general corporate purposes. Portola’s fourth program, PRT2607 for the treatment of allergic asthma and other inflammatory disorders, is partnered with Biogen Idec, which is leading the pre-clinical study and is responsible for all development-related expenses.
Portola recently raised $317.3m in convertible preferred stock from its investors and $167m in license fees from Biogen, Merck, Novartis, BMS and Pfizer.
In November 2011, Portola raised $89m, weeks after closing corporate venture backing from trade peer Biogen Idec. Temasek, the Singapore state-backed investment company and Eastern Capital Limited, the family office of Kenneth Dart, chief executive of Styrofoam cup maker Dart Container, joined Portola’s $89m series D round as new investors, alongside previous backers.
In July 2008, Portola raised $60m in its series C extension round from existing and new investors, the latter including hedge fund DE Shaw and asset managers Adage Capital Management, BBT Capital Management/Apothecary Capital, Janus Capital Group and Pac-Link BioVentures.
This followed $70m in May 2007’s C round from mutual fund managers Brookside Capital, AllianceBernstein, Teachers’ Private Capital (the private investment arm of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan) and T Rowe Price, investment bank Goldman Sachs, the Industrial Bank of Taiwan’s IBTM venture capital subsidiary and venture capital firms CIDC, Abingworth, Alta Partners, Advanced Technology Ventures, Frazier Healthcare, MPM Capital, Prospect Ventures and Sutter Hill Ventures.
Following the C round, Portola had received $50m in payments from US-based drugs peer Merck & Co and Biogen Idec agreed to provide an upfront payment of $45m, which includes $36m in cash and $9m in Portola equity.