Ascletis, a China-based hepatitis C drug developer backed by pharmaceutical company Tasly Pharmaceuticals, has priced $400m in an initial public offering in Hong Kong, Reuters reported yesterday.
The company floated in the middle of its range, selling 224 million shares equating to 20% of its overall share capital priced at HK$14 ($1.78) each, in the middle of the IPO’s HK$12 to HK$16 range, according to three sources.
Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC committed last week to buy $75m of shares in the offering as a cornerstone investor.
Founded in 2011, Ascletis is developing treatments for the hepatitis C virus (HCV). It received approval from Chinese regulators for an anti-viral HCV treatment called Ganovo last month.
The company has also concluded a phase 2/3 trial for Ravidasvir, which is intended to be taken orally with Ganovo as a joint regimen.
Ascletis initially raised $100m in a 2011 round led by private equity firm Hangzhou Binjiang Investment, before closing a $55m series A round featuring Tasly, investment banking firm Goldman Sachs, C-Bridge Capital and the Singaporean-state owned Pavilion Capital in 2015.
C-Bridge subsequently led the company’s $100m series B round in January 2017, investing alongside Tasly, outdoor advertising group Focus Media’s Jiangnanchun Foundation, Goldman Sachs, QianHai Equity Investment FOF and WTT Investment.
The company is scheduled to begin trading on August 1, and China Merchants Securities, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are the joint sponsors.