The rights issue by BiolineRX Ltd. (TASE:BLRX) has been a success. The company raised at least NIS 50 million from current and new shareholders. Most of the company’s parties at interest participated in the offering, including Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq:TEVA; TASE:TEVA) and Canada's Pan Atlantic Bank and Trust Ltd. Trading in the offering was lively. Clal Finance Underwriting Ltd. led the offering.
Giza Venture Capital and Pitango Venture Capital did not participate in the offering. Giza owned 11.7% of BiolineRX before the issue, and Pitango owned 10.6%. Both venture capital funds sold their rights in off-floor deals when the rights issue was announced, partly because they opposed it.
BiolineRX’s share rose 3.8% to NIS 1.86 today, giving a market cap of NIS 124 million. The share’s float is quite large; institutional investors own 12.8% of the company and the public owns 31%. Trading in the rights was heavy, with new investors, including institutional investors participating.
BiolineRX now expects to hear within days the fate of its negotiations with a leading pharmaceutical company that wants to buy one of its flagship products for the treatment of heart attacks.
Sources inform “Globes” that a down payment of $15 million has been set in the negotiations, of which $5 million will remain at BiolineRX and the rest will be used to compensation external parties. If the deal is closed, the company could receive up to $300 million in milestone payments.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on July 2, 2009
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