BioAmber, a Canada-based converter of feedstocks into chemicals, plans to sell eight million shares at between $15 and $17 each in its flotation on the New York Stock Exchange.
The planned price for BioAmber’s initial public offering is nearly half the value per share paid by strategic investor Lanxess in a private placement last year, according to the company’s regulatory filing.
Lanxess invested $10m at $28.49 per share as part of BioAmber’s $30m series C round.
Other investors in BioAmber include venture capital firms Naxos Capital, Sofinnova Partners and Cliffton Group and Japan-based financial services firm Mitsui, which also has a joint venture with the portfolio company to build a production plant in Canada.
Mitsui was joined in the $20m November tranche by venture capital firm Sofinnova Ventures, investment group Naxos Capital Partners and investment advisor the Clifton Group.
The C round brought BioAmber’s total funding to $87m since the company was spun-off from nutritional supplements company Diversified Natural Products at the end of 2008, with prior investors including Samsung’s corporate venturing fund, Samsung Ventures, and automotive manufacturer Toyota.