Syncona has provided an update on the initial public offering (IPO) of its company, Freeline Therapeutics Holdings Plc. Freeline is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on AAV-based gene therapy targeting the liver. The key takeaways from the announcement are as follows:
- Freeline has announced the pricing of its IPO in the United States.
- This is for 8,823,529 American Depositary Shares (ADSs).
- At an initial public offering price of $18 per ADS.
- For total gross proceeds of approximately $158.8 million (£120.8 million).
- All ADSs sold in the IPO were offered by Freeline, and each ADS represents one ordinary share.
- The ADSs are expected to begin trading on The Nasdaq Global Select Market on 7 August, 2020 under the ticker symbol FRLN.
- Following the IPO, Syncona will retain a stake of 49 per cent in Freeline (amounting to 18,814,527 ordinary shares), with a total value of £257.7 million, having agreed to invest $24.3 million (£18.5 million) in the IPO.
- This includes an increase in the value of its current shareholding of £57.7 million (compared to the 30 June 2020 reported value of £181.5 million).
Comments Chris Hollowood, CIO of Syncona Investment Management
“In the five years since Syncona founded Freeline, the company has brought multiple programmes to the clinic, with a cutting-edge manufacturing platform and expert management team. Today’s milestone is a significant achievement for the business, and we look forward to continuing to work in close partnership with the management team as it looks to realise its ambition to deliver treatments to patients.”
About Syncona
Syncona aims to be a leading, self-managed, life science investment company. It describes itself as a leading FTSE250 healthcare company focused on founding, building and funding a portfolio of global leaders in life science. Its vision is to build a sustainable, diverse portfolio of 15 – 20 companies focused on delivering transformational treatments to patients in truly innovative areas of healthcare, through which it seeks to deliver strong risk-adjusted returns for shareholders.