Shanghai Henlius Biotech, a China-based biotechnology developer backed by conglomerate Fosun, will raise $410m in its initial public offering, Reuters reported yesterday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The company issued approximately 64.7 million shares priced at HK$49.60 ($6.34) and will begin trading on the Hong Stock Exchange on September 25. The share price represents the bottom of Henlius’ range, set last week with a top end of $7.40.
Zhejiang Staidson Investment, the corporate venturing arm of pharmaceutical company Staidson Beijing Biopharmaceutical, is one of four cornerstone investors that have agreed to buy a total of $140m of shares in the offering.
The other three cornerstone investors are Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the sovereign wealth fund of Qatar, as well as asset manager Avict Global Holdings and Cayman Henlius: an investment vehicle for the company’s co-founders.
Founded in 2010, Henlius is working on proprietary medication and biosimilars – drugs that replicate the functioning of a treatment originally created by another company – for cancer and autoimmune disorders.
The company has launched one biosimilar in China to date and has more than 20 other candidates at various clinical stages of development in its pipeline. Proceeds from the IPO have been allocated to a wide range of clinical trials for its lead assets.
Henlius picked up $190m in funding in late 2017 from Fosun Pharma, the pharmaceutical subsidiary of Fosun, as well as Shenzhen GTJA Investment Group, Joyful Ascent and Green Tomato, according to China Money Network.
The company subsequently added $156m in capital from China International Capital Corp, New China Capital and Loyal Valley Capital in July 2018 at a valuation of nearly $3bn.
Fosun International will own a 53.7% stake in Henlius through a variety of vehicles following completion of the IPO. Cayman Henlius will own 10.9%, while QIA will obtain a 0.9% stake from its cornerstone investment through wholly-owned subsidiary Al-Rayan Holding.
The underwriters for the offering include China International Capital Corporation Hong Kong Securities, Merrill Lynch (Asia Pacific), BOCI Asia, UBS Hong Kong, CMB International Capital, Fosun Hani Securities, Citigroup Global Markets Asia and Haitong International Securities.
AMTD Global Markets, BNP Paribas Securities (Asia), ICBC International Securities, Zhongtai International Securities, ABCI Securities, China Everbright Securities (HK) and SBI China Capital Financial Services are also among the list.
The underwriters have been granted an over-allotment option to purchase up to 9.7 million additional shares, potentially boosting its size to nearly $472m.
