Allied Minds beats target with $81m placing

Allied Minds, a US-based, London-listed life sciences and tech commercialisation company, has collected £64m ($81m) following an equity placing that included a £15m contribution from asset manager Woodford Investment Management.

According to a December 2 regulatory filing, bookrunners Credit Suisse Securities and Numis Securities sold more than 17 million new ordinary shares at 367p a share, representing about 8.1% of the ordinary share capital of Allied Minds before the sale.

Woodford, one of Allied Minds’ largest shareholders with a 29% stake, acquired 4.1 million shares at the placing price, representing a discount of 2.2% to the closing price of 375.1p on December 1, the day the placing was first announced.

The company surpassed its original fundraising target of $65m by about 25%. Allied Minds initially intended to sell 14 million new shares at 369p a share, which would then be invested in its subsidiaries, according to a December 1 filing.

Another major backer, fund manager Invesco Asset Management, also planned to take part, while Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC indicated it would “meaningfully increase” its stake in Allied Minds by buying new shares, the company said at the time. The filing did not disclose whether either actor participated in the fundraising.

Allied Minds has a total of 160 American universities and US federal research laboratories in its network, and works to form, fund and operate spinouts in its chosen fields of focus. Since 2006, Allied Minds has launched more than 20 life sciences and technology spinouts.

A recent company includes Virginia Tech spinout Hawkeye 360, a developer of a space-based radio frequency mapping and analytics system, which raised $11m in series A funding last month.

Allied Minds has raised more than $550m in capital, including $150m from its initial public offering in 2014. Following the issue of new equity, the total number of ordinary shares of one pence each in the capital of Allied Mind will be about 233.7 million.

Chris Silva, chief executive of Allied Minds, said: “The proceeds [from the placing] will further enable Allied Minds to invest alongside third parties in our portfolio of subsidiaries and to fund our pipeline of new technologies sourced from our academic, federal and corporate partners.

“The proceeds of the placing put Allied Minds in a strong position to capitalise on the opportunities in front of us and increase our financial flexibility as we seek to maximise value capture for our shareholders.”

Allied Minds shares were up 4.6% at 389.1p in late trading on Monday.