US-based pharmaceutical company Minerva Neurosciences set the range of its initial public offering at $10-12 yesterday, which would result in an IPO sized between $54.5m and $65.4m.
Minerva, which is working on drugs to treat central nervous system diseases, will issue approximately 5.45 million shares in the offering. Underwriters Jeffries, Baird and JMP Securities have the 30-day option to sell a further 818,000 shares, which would boost the size of the IPO by between $8.2m and $9.8m.
Janssen Pharmaceutica plans to buy almost 2.4 million shares in the IPO, which would secure it an 14% share of Minerva, and will purchase the shares through its parent company Johnson & Johnson’s corporate venturing unit.
Medical research institution ProteoSys holds a 5.7% stake that will be diluted to 2.9% after the offering. The two largest shareholders, venture capital firms Care Capital and Index Ventures, will buy stock through the IPO but will nevertheless see their stakes fall from 34.9% to 18.1%, and 40.3% to 22% respectively.
Minerva will invest the proceeds in Phase 1 or 2 clinical trials for four of its drug candidates, and will earmark $1.6m to repay bridge loans taken out earlier this year.