Posts with tag biotech
Posted Jun 19th 2008 12:51PM by Jon Ogg
Filed under: Deals, Raising money, Warburg Pincus, Engagements, Venture capital industry, Private equity industry, Investments, Public or private?
Most private equity firms hunt for stable companies with stable cash flows that are either cheap or inefficiently operated. These companies can then be resold for more money or taken public, or the strategy can fit into the Warren Buffett time frame of "forever." Biotechnology has long been the realm for only public companies, but that is changing.
Private equity firm
Warburg Pincus has
already made some biotech plays that seemed to be a harbinger of the trends here, and even more so when you consider foreign drug companies buying US-based biotechs on the cheap with that US Peso of a currency we have.
A new fund called GANIC Pharmaceuticals
has been launched this week, with Warburg Pincus as the main backer. the private equity firm made an initial investment in GANIC from the Warburg Pincus Private Equity X, L.P., a $15 billion fund which closed in April. As of now, we do not have any exact launch figures for the size of the investment that was given to GANIC.
GANIC's management is all former senior executives of MedPointe Pharmaceuticals and the company will will focus on building a substantial enterprise by acquiring revenue generating companies, portfolios, and/or products and by investing in innovation and acquiring pipeline development assets.
Read more at BioHealthInvestor.com for estimates of the size and strategies that the fund may employ.Posted Apr 28th 2008 11:46AM by Jon Ogg
Filed under: Deals, Raising money, Venture capital industry, Investments
Quaker BioVentures
closed its second fund that focuses on life science companies in the Mid-Atlantic region at $420 million, beating a target of $120 million.
The first fund closed for $280 million and invested in 24 companies. The fund has been successful, with Amicus Pharmaceuticals going public last May, while Eximias and MedMark were each acquired in spring of 2006. BioRexis Pharmaceutical Corp. and Precision Therapeutics are pending acquisitions.
The second fund has already invested in five companies including Argolyn BioScience, Diasome Pharmaceuticals, EKR Therapeutics, Optherion, and Transave. Quaker's partners for the fund include Sherrill Neff, Brenda Gavin, Richard Kollender, Ira Lubert, Adele Cirone Oliva and Dr. Matthew Rieke. The limited partners for the second fund have not been disclosed, however, Thomson Reuters reported that the Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System and the Pennsylvania State Employees' Retirement System have invested.
Jon Ogg produces and edits the Special Situation Investing Newsletter for 247WallSt.com.
Posted Feb 20th 2008 9:49AM by Jon Ogg
Today,
Pfizer Inc.(NYSE:
PFE) announced a
cash tender offer to
Encysive Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:
ENCY) for $2.35 per share for all issued and outstanding shares. Interestingly enough, this represents a 118% premium based on Monday's market close price of $1.08.
The equity value of the transaction is $195 million. As a result of the acquisition, Pfizer will acquire the rights to THELIN, a treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension,or PAH, in pre Phase III trials in the United States. Encysive had been under a strategic review since summer of 2000 and this one got clipped harshly last summer on a
declined approval.
Kudos go out to Collins Stewart research and analysis. They recently raised their rating on this one to a BUY rating.
Jon Ogg is a partner and editor of
247WallSt.com.
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