SSL boosts acquisition chest; Bank of Queensland, Exact Sciences wrap deals; Seattle Genetics sells stock

By Kenneth Lim

Boston, Jan. 28 - SSL International plc raised £87.31 million by selling its stock at a slight discount in order to fund its growth plans and possible acquisitions.

Bank of Queensland Ltd. completed a A$63 million private stock placement to support its organic growth plans.

Seattle Genetics, Inc. plans to offer about $11.45 million of its common shares at a slight discount to an existing shareholder.

Exact Sciences Corp. settled its $6 million private placement of stock to Genzyme Corp. as part of a strategic agreement between the two biotechs.

SSL raises £87.31 million

SSL International took in £87.31 million through a private stock placement.

The company sold 19.19 million shares at 455p apiece, a 1.9% discount to its share price before the deal was announced, adjusted for a 2.6p interim dividend. SSL common stock (LSE: SSL) rose 3.81% or 17.75p to close at 484p on Wednesday.

SSL has a market capitalization of £928.8 million.

Proceeds will be used to fund the company's planned medium term organic growth, pursue selected bolt-on acquisitions and to possibly increase its newly acquired stake in Beleggingsmaatschappij Lemore BV.

SSL International is a London-based consumer products company.

The shares were placed with institutional investors.

The company also announced Wednesday that it expects to report operating profit growth in excess of 30% for the year ending March 31, 2009.

"Despite the challenging global consumer environment, SSL continues to show its potential and that of its leading brands, Durex and Scholl," SSL chief executive Garry Watts said in a statement.

"Good underlying sales, continuing cost control and profit growth, supplemented by the currency benefits arising from our trading base in Europe and Asia, are driving strong earnings growth. The options to take control of the Russian and Ukrainian businesses, which are fully consistent with our strategy and our core capabilities, give us yet another opportunity for further expansion."

Bank of Queensland raises capital

Bank of Queensland raised A$63 million through a private placement of shares.

The shares were sold at $7.64 apiece. Bank of Queensland common stock (ASX: BOQ) closed unchanged at A$7.90 on Wednesday. The bank has a market capitalization of A$1.2 billion.

Proceeds will be used to fund organic growth opportunities.

The Brisbane, Australia-based financial services company said it also expects to take in an additional A$45 million from a rights offering to existing shareholders that closed on Jan. 23.

The shares were placed with institutional and sophisticated investors, including Bank of Queensland's largest shareholder, BRED Banque Populaire.

"In light of the adverse financial market conditions in recent days, we are very pleased with the response from our retail shareholders and professional investors," Bank of Queensland managing director David Liddy said in a statement.

"I am particularly pleased that we were able to offer all our shareholders the opportunity to participate in the SPP at the same price as the institutional placement."

"The additional capital raised will place the bank in a comparable position to its banking peers on a Tier 1 ratio exceeding 8.0% but with a lower risk asset book and reduced reliance on innovative hybrids," he added.

Seattle Genetics to raise $11.45 million

Seattle Genetics plans raise about $11.45 million through a stock placement to existing investor Baker Brothers Life Sciences, LP.

The shares will be sold at about $9.72 apiece. The company's stock slipped 3.63% or $0.38 to close at $10.08 on Wednesday. Seattle Genetics (Nasdaq: SGEN) has a market capitalization of $804.1 million.

Baker Brothers is buying the shares in order to maintain its 17.03% stake in Seattle Genetics, which is selling 5.74 million shares, or about $55.8 million, through a public offering at the same price.

Proceeds of both stock offerings will be used to fund research and development, including clinical trials and manufacturing campaigns for its proprietary product candidates, and for general corporate purposes, including working capital.

Seattle Genetics is a Bothell, Wash.-based biotechnology company focused on the development of monoclonal antibody-based therapies for the treatment of cancer and immunologic diseases.

Exact Sciences wraps Genzyme deal

Exact Sciences raised $6 million through a stock placement to Genzyme as part of a strategic agreement.

The company sold 3 million shares at $2 per share. Exact Sciences common stock (Nasdaq: EXAS) closed at $1.63 on Wednesday, up by 9.4% or $0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $44.4 million.

Exact Sciences, based in Marlborough, Mass., develops screening technologies for cancer detection.

Exact Sciences will receive $24.5 million in cash in total as part of the Genzyme agreement. The additional $18.5 million will be paid in exchange for intellectual property assets related to prenatal and reproductive health.

In a press release, the company said it expects its cash resources to last into 2011.

"This strategic relationship with Genzyme is an important milestone in Exact's continued evolution and will serve as a solid platform for us to grow our oncology diagnostics business," Exact president and chief executive Jeffrey R. Luber said.

"Genzyme is one of the world's leading biotechnology companies and this transaction offers an ideal relationship for Exact. In addition to the substantial infusion of capital into Exact, we believe that our ability to access Genzyme's extensive development and regulatory expertise will facilitate our efforts toward the introduction of our next-generation platform for colorectal cancer screening."

Genzyme Genetics senior vice president and general manager Jon L. Hart added: "This transaction will bring Genzyme intellectual property in support of our development of non-invasive prenatal testing and other advanced diagnostic testing services.

"We have a responsibility to bring forward more advanced testing options for physicians and families and we are strongly committed to driving continued innovation in this field. We are pleased to be shareholders in Exact and believe that our relationship may facilitate their important mission to bring novel stool-based cancer diagnostics to the public."

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.