Jafco-backed Eleven Bio raises $50m in NASDAQ IPO
Eleven Biotherapeutics, a US biopharma company firm backed by Japan’s Jafco Ventures, has raised $50 million through its NASDAQ IPO – short of the $69 million initially sought.
The Massachusetts-based firm, which designs and engineers medicines to treat inflammatory eye conditions, sold 5.75 million shares at $10 apiece, well below the proposed range of $13-15 per share.
The stock, which began trading on February 6, closed up at $10.8 on its first day and has since risen to $11.17 during morning trading on Wednesday.
According to a prospectus, the new funds will be used to fund trials of a new drug designed to prevent dry eye disease.
Subsequent to the offering, the company's largest is investor is Third Rock Ventures which owns 27.9% followed by Flagship Venture Management and Jafco, which hold 19.5% and 12.4% respectively.
According to AVCJ Research, Jafco contributed $10 million to a $20 million funding round, which also included Third Rock and Flagship in May 2012. Flagship and Third Rock had together invested $35 million in the company in February 2010.
Jafco, which held 18.4% prior to the offering, made its investment via the Jafco Super V3 Fund Series.
This marks the first IPO of a Jafco-backed firm this year. Last year Jafco saw 25 of its portfolio companies go public, two of these listed on the NASDAQ exchange: Chinese mobile internet portal Sungy Mobile and US anti-virus software developer FireEye. The firm also backed social networking site Twitter, which floated on the New York Stock Exchange in November.
Citigroup, Cowen and Company and Leerink Partners acted as joint book-running managers for the Eleven Bio offering.
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