Business

Biotech investment boosts Malin’s instrinsic value

CG Oncology shares have risen on the Nasdaq

Malin, the Dublin-listed life sciences investment company, returned €140 million to investors last year.

Ciara O'Brien
Wed Feb 28 2024 - 11:39

Life sciences investor Malin Corporation said its estimated intrinsic value rose from the middle of last year as shares in one of its investments gained value on the Nasdaq.

Malinestimated its intrinsic value at €6.56 per share at the end of December, or €123.7 million, and €149.1 million or €7. 91 per share on February 26th 2024. That compared with €6.49 per share at the end of June.

The jump in value was attributed in part to an increase in the share price of Nasdaq-listed biotech holding, CG Oncology.

But the State backed company still has a way to go before it reaches the €10.07 per share it recorded in February last year. The value slumped between February and June 2023 after shares in one of its investments, clinical stage biopharma company Poseida, lost three-quarters of their value.

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The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (Isif) holds an 11.3 per cent stake in Malin. The company also had a change in leadership, with its chief executive of four years, Darragh Lyons, leaving in October last year and Fiona Dunlevy assuming the top role. Liam Daniel, who took on the executive chair position during the transition, is returning to his role as chairman from February 29th.

“We are pleased with the progress made by the business during 2023. The focus of our business strategy over the past few years has been to protect and enhance the value of our positions in our investee companies, insofar as possible, while these businesses worked towards reaching important business milestones,” said Ms Dunleavy. “During 2023, we continued our execution of this strategy, starting the year with the return of €140 million of capital to shareholders via a tender offer which had been brought about by capital generated from the successful divestment of a number of investee companies.”

Malin said the aggregate fair value of its interests in its investee companies was €94.4 million at the end of December, down from €143.4 million at the end of 2022. The decline in value of Poseida, along with distributions received from Viamet, were mainly behind the decline. However, the rise in value of Malin’s interest in CGO, which included an additional €2.1 million investment in the company’s Series F round in July 2023, partly offset this decline.

Its cash balance was €29.3 million on December 31st 2023, down from €173.9 million a year prior due to the €140 million tender offer that returned cash to shareholders. A €6.5 million milestone payment related to the 2021 sale of Kymab to Sanofi saw that increase to €34.5 million by February 26th.

Ciara O'Brien

Ciara O'Brien

Ciara O'Brien is an Irish Times business and technology journalist

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