Biotalys sets price for Euronext Brussels listing
BRUSSELS, June 23 (Reuters) - Belgium's Biotalys will raise up to 71.2 million euros ($79.8 million) in its listing on Euronext Brussels next week, the maker of biological alternatives to chemical pesticides said on Wednesday.
The agri-tech company said it had set a price range of 7.50 to 8.50 euros and plans to sell up to 6.333 million new shares, with a potential 15% increase subject to demand and a further 15% over-allotment option.
The sale will then range from 47.5 million euros to a maximum of 71.2 million euros, if all the extra shares are taken up. The offer period will end no later than June 30 for retail investors and July 1 for institutions, with listing on or about July 2.
Founded in 2013, Biotalys is a spin-off from the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology and the agricultural counterpart to Belgian biopharmaceutical firm Ablynx, which Sanofi bought in 2018 for 3.9 billion euros ($4.7 billion).
Both use llama antibodies, which are smaller and easier to manipulate than human equivalents. Biotalys extracts proteins for use against fungi, bacteria and insects that attack crops, especially high-value fruit like grapes and strawberries.
Biotalys expects to secure U.S. regulatory approval in mid-2022 for its first product, Evoca, and sees a 2024 launch in the European Union, which aims to cut chemical pesticide use by 50% by 2030.
Biotalys said that investors such as GIMV and Sofinnova Partners would participate in the flotation, proceeds of which will go towards research and business development. New investors BNP Paribas and Belgian state fund SFPI-FPIM have also committed to a combined 10 million euros.
Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co and KBC Securities are joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners, with Belfius Bank as joint bookrunner and Oppenheimer as lead U.S. bookrunner. ($1 = 0.8392 euros)
(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
