Marijuana REIT to Test IPO Market This Week

November 20, 2016 by Paul Ausick

Only one of the three initial public offerings (IPOs) scheduled for last week was able to complete its plan to tap the U.S. public equity markets. Just two firms have plans to launch IPOs in the holiday-shortened week ahead, but one is a REIT looking to acquire marijuana grow operations.

Motif Bio plc, a U.K.-based biotech, priced 2.4 million American Depositary Shares (ADS) at $6.98 to raise $17 million. A concurrent European offering increased the total capital raise to $25 million. The company plans to list on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol MTFB.

Through the week ending November 18 IPO ETF manager Renaissance Capital reported that 97 IPOs have priced in the U.S. so far this year, down about 42% from a year ago. Total proceeds raised through last week equaled $17.3 billion, down 42% compared with the same period in 2015. Of the 97 IPOs that have gone off this year, 41 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, nor does it include IPOs that raise less than $10 million.

Here are the two IPOs that will try to enter the public equity markets in the coming week.

Eagleline Acquisition Corp. is a blank-check company that intends to concentrate its efforts on businesses supplying services to the healthcare industry. The firm plans sell 15 million units at $10 per unit to raise $150 million. Each unit includes one share of class A common stock and one-half of one warrant to purchase an additional share. Units are listed only for the week of November 21 and will trade on the Nasdaq under the symbol IGLEU.

Far more interesting is Innovative Industrial Properties Inc., a REIT focused on the acquisition, ownership, and management of specialized industrial properties leased to experienced, state-licensed operators for their regulated medical-use cannabis facilities. The company plans to offer 8.8 million shares at $20 per share to raise $175 million. Shares are expected to price on Monday and begin trading Tuesday on the NYSE under the ticker symbol IIPR.

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