Switzerland-based biopharmaceutical company Auris Medical raised $56.4m in an initial public offering on Nasdaq on yesterday.
Auris issued 9.4 million shares priced at $6.00 each, a good deal more than the 6.9 million shares it planned to issue when it set the range between $10 and $12 per share late last month, though the proceeds ended up being considerably less than the $84m it targeted at that time.
The stake in Auris held by Allianz-backed venture capital fund IdInvest Partners was diluted from 9.1% to 6.1% through the offering. The largest shareholders in Auris remain Soffinova Venture Partners (13.1%), Soffinova Capital (12.6%) and ZKB (7.7%).
Auris develops treatments for inner ear disorders, and will use at least $43m of the proceeds from the IPO to fund research and development expenses for its lead product candidate, a treatment for tinnitus.
Jefferies and Leerink Partners, joint book-running managers for the offering, and co-managers JMP Securities and Needham & Company have the 30-day option to buy an additional 1.41 million shares, which would boost the size of the IPO to almost $64.9m.