Irish based life sciences company Malin raised €330 million from international investors in its debut on the Irish Stock Exchange (ISE) on Wednesday, in one of the largest life science IPOs ever to take place in Europe.
The shares were placed at €10, before rising to €10.50 in early trading.
Malin, which was set up by a group of ex-Elan executives, will trade on the junior market, the Enterprise Securities Market (ESM), and its plan is to acquire majority or significant minority equity positions in private, pre IPO, pre trade sale operating businesses in the life sciences industry.
John Given, chairman of Malin, said it opted for the Irish Stock Exchange because as an Irish company, "Malin should have an Irish listing and the ESM is an ideal exchange for our Irish, European and global investor base who have participated in the offering and who share our long-term vision for Malin".
Dr Adrian Howd, Malin's CEO added: "We are well-placed to achieve our goals of creating long term value for shareholders and improving patients' lives globally by building a leading international life sciences company with world class scientific, medical and business leadership from our Irish base."
The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), a government fund aimed at supporting economic activity and employment in Ireland, is a 15 per cent shareholder inthe company, having invested € 50m in Malin's IPO. It's the first investment for the fund which is managed by the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), since it was established in December 2014.
Eugene O’Callaghan, sirector, ISIF, said that the investment is consistent with the ISIF’s “double bottom line” mandate to seek both a commercial investment return and a significant economic impact from the investments it makes.
“The commitments we have agreed with Malin demonstrate that our investments are designed to stimulate high-quality economic activity in Ireland, support employment in Ireland and deliver commercial investment returns. We look forward to supporting many more commercial investments in Ireland, including companies in high-growth sectors that are candidates for further IPOs,” he said.
