Chinese biopharmaceutical firm CStone Pharmaceuticals is looking to raise as much as HK$2.2 billion ($282 million) in its upcoming Hong Kong IPO next week at an expected HK$12.6 billion ($1.6 billion) market cap.
The company said the indicative price range was set at HK$11.1-12.8 apiece. The above calculation of net proceeds was based on the upper price of HK$12.8, and assuming no over-allotment would be exercised.
Cornerstone investors, including Tetrad Ventures, Boyu Capital Opportunities Master Fund and Singapore’s GIC, have agreed to subscribe for a certain number of offer shares that may be purchased for an aggregate amount of $95 million.
Meanwhile, over 25 per cent of the company’s total issued shares will be held by the public upon completion of the offering, CStone said in its IPO prospectus.
Immediately after the IPO, its substantial shareholders will be holding 54.67 per cent interest in the firm. Particularly, WuXi Healthcare Ventures and its general partner, WuXi Healthcare Management, as CStone’s largest shareholders, will have around 29.76 per cent; Graceful Beauty Limited will hold 14.93 per cent; and Zhengze Yuanshi, managed by Suzhou Industrial Park Zhengze Health Venture Capital Management Centre, will hold about 9.98 per cent.
These major shareholders, among other investors, joined CStone’s $150-million Series A financing in 2016 and $262 million Series B round in 2018.
A clinical-stage biopharma company focused on developing and commercializing immuno-oncology and molecularly targeted drugs, CStone has built an oncology-focused pipeline with 14 assets, including three immune-oncology backbone drug candidates at clinical stage.
It has obtained exclusive licenses from Agios and Blueprint to develop and commercialise four molecularly targeted compounds in Greater China. In addition, the firm has also sealed two agreements with WuXi Biologics regarding drug discovery and pre-clinical development services for 13 biologic drug candidates, and distribution of its core product CS1001 in the ex-China territory.
CStone said it will use the IPO capital to continue developing its core product candidate, other clinical and IND stage candidates, and to fund the R&D of five of the remaining drug candidates in the pipeline as well as new drug candidates.
Also read:
Singapore’s GIC leads $260m Series B round in Chinese biopharma firm CStone