Washington Editor
Enzo Biochem Inc. raised $15 million in gross proceeds through a registered direct offering with an undisclosed buyer.
The New York company plans to direct the new money toward general corporate purposes, which include funding future acquisitions, clinical research and development programs, capital expenditures and working capital needs. Its therapeutic division features multiple clinical-stage products: a gene medicine for HIV-1 infection and immune regulation medicines for hepatitis B and C, as well as Crohn's disease.
Enzo sold 1 million common shares at $15 apiece in the definitive purchase agreement, and the deal's net proceeds of $14.2 million boosted its cash reserves to about $125 million.
The transaction, which is expected to close on Wednesday, is being made under a shelf registration statement from Dec. 8. Barely two weeks after it was declared effective, Enzo closed a $46 million registered direct offering of about 3.3 million shares with a group of institutional investors.
The company had about 32.3 million shares outstanding on Oct. 31. Lazard Capital Markets LLC, of New York, served as the latest offering's exclusive placement agent.
On Monday, Enzo's stock (NYSE:ENZ) tacked on 19 cents to close at $15.27.
In other financing news:
• Genizon BioSciences Inc., of Montreal, raised C$10 million (US$8.5 million) in the first closing of its Series D equity financing. Backers include Pfizer Inc., of New York, pursuant to a license and collaboration agreement announced last month, and an existing venture capital investor, BTF BV, of Haarlem, the Netherlands. Genizon plans to use the new funds to conduct genome-wide association studies involving more than 40,000 members of the Quebec Founder Population, a group with extensive genetic sharing and low genetic variability, and to enhance and commercialize discoveries already generated from previous studies.
• Cell Genesys Inc., of South San Francisco, secured a $75 million committed equity financing facility with Kingsbridge Capital Ltd., of London, in which the institutional investor has committed to provide up to that amount worth of capital during the next three years through the purchase of newly issued common shares. Terms of the arrangement, which allows Cell Genesys to raise capital at the time, price and in amounts deemed suitable to itself to support corporate and research and development activities, preclude Kingsbridge from selling short the stock during this time. The deal follows a similar transaction from a year ago, in which Cell Genesys raised about $35.1 million by selling 8.7 million shares over nine months. Any new resources derived under the new deal could be used to advance Cell Genesys' lead program, GVAX immunotherapy for prostate cancer, through Phase III development.
• Oxford Genome Sciences (UK) Ltd., of Oxford, UK, secured an undisclosed amount of funding through a private equity investment to accelerate the development of its monoclonal antibodies for cancer. The company plans to develop its therapeutics in conjunction with a diagnostic product, to allow for personalized treatment. The capital came from a syndicate of investors, led by the newly launched Catapult Growth Fund, of Nottingham, UK, as well as the South East Growth Fund, of Caterham, UK, and Oxford Capital Partners Ltd., of Oxford, UK.
• Repros Therapeutics Inc., of The Woodlands, Texas, completed its public offering of 2.6 million shares priced at $13.75 each. Net proceeds totaled about $33 million. CIBC World Markets Corp. acted as sole book-running managers, with Punk, Ziegel & Co. serving as lead manager and ThinkEquity Partners LLC as co-manager. (See BioWorld Today, Feb. 1, 2007.)