The first week of March continued the initial public offering (IPO) drought that started in December and dwindled to just one offering in February. One biotech firm, Syndax Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: SNDX), made its IPO last week, but priced below its range.
Through the week ending March 4th, IPO ETF manager Renaissance Capital reported that 5 IPOs have priced in the U.S. so far this year, down about 81% from a year ago. Total proceeds raised through last week equaled $500 million, down nearly 89% compared with the same period in 2015. Of the 5 IPOs that have gone off this year, all have come from the healthcare sector. Last year’s IPO total came in at $30 billion on 170 offerings. Renaissance Capital does not include “best efforts” or blank-check companies in its totals.
There are two IPOs on the calendar this week. One is a blank check company back after failing last week, and the other is a too-small-to-be-counted IPO from an Israel-based biotech firm that currently trades on the Tel Aviv exchange.
24/7 Wall St.KLR Energy Acquisition Corp. is a blank-check company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities. The company plans to offer 13 million units at a price of $10 per unit to rise $130 million. Each unit comprises one share of class A common stock and one warrant to purchase one share of class A common stock at a price of $11.50 under certain conditions. Sole bookrunner for the offering is EarlyBird Capital Inc. and the co-manager is i-Bankers Securities. Units are listed only as week of February 29th and will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol KLREU. Shares will trade under the symbol KLRE and warrants will trade under the symbol KLREW once the IPO is completed.
BioLight Life Sciences Ltd. is an Israel-based ophthalmic company developing treatments for eye conditions including glaucoma, DES, and AMD. The company plans to offer 1.85 million shares at a price of $5.86 per share to raise $400,000 at a market cap of $26.1 million. The company is offering an equal number of warrants separately with an exercise price of $9.74. Joint bookrunners for the offering are Feltl and Co. and Rodman & Renshaw, a unit of H.C. Wainwright & Co. Shares are listed to price the week of March 7th and will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol BOLT. Renaissance Capital will not count this IPO in its annual statistics due to its small size.
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