Luca Technologies, a US-based company focused on gasification of in-ground coal, shale and oil reserves and backed by ASF and BASF’s corporate venturing units, has withdrawn its plans to float.
Last month, Luca set the upper limit of its flotation range at $110.5m.
Luca had been trying to sell 8.5 million shares at between $11 per share and $13 per share. It has also granted its underwriters "a green shoe" of 1.275m shares, according to the company’s securities and exchange Commission filing.
Luca was set to trade on Nasdaq with the symbol LUCA. The top end of the range would give Luca a market capitalisation of $365.3m, based on the $28.1 million shares set to be in issue after flotation. Citigroup, Piper Jaffray, Raymond James, Baird and Think Equity were advising the company.
BASF Venture Capital holds 7.9% of the company’s shares. Another corporate backer of the company is Australia-based energy firm ASF. The company’s largest shareholders are Luca’s founder and chairman Eric Szaloczi (29.3%), venture firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (20.9%), JPMorgan-owned private equity firm One Equity Partners (17.6%), venture firm Oxford Bioscience Partners (8.9%), and Luca’s chief executive Robert Cavnar (1.4%).
Between 2006 and 2008 the company raised $99m in venture capital financing.
The company made a net loss last year of $19m on $1m of revenue.