Malin, Formed by Ex-Elan Execs, Eye Up to $365 Million in Biotech IPO

Malin, Formed by Ex-Elan (ELN) Execs, Eye Up to $365 Million in Biotech IPO
March 4, 2015
By Krystle Vermes, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff

Irish life sciences company Malin announced on Feb. 27 that it intends to raise between $308 million to $365 million for its IPO. Former Elan Corporation chief executive Kelly Martin and chairman Bob Ingram will sit on Malin’s board, according to Reuters.

Malin will invest in businesses that are too young for their own IPO. The company will provide capital and industry experience that venture capital and private equity funds do not guarantee.

Malin told the news source that it has seven firms lined up, including a U.S. disinfection technology distributor. The company also noted that a large portion of its funds have already been committed.

Serenus Accepts Help from Malin
Serenus Biotherapeutics, Inc., announced on March 3 that it has secured an investment of up to $43 million from Malin. As a result, Malin will buy a 41 percent stake in the company for $18 million. The company will also have the right to invest up to an additional $25 million and raise its stake in Serenus up to 76 percent.

"Africans have an appetite for newer technologies to improve health,” said Menghis Bairu, founder, CEO and president of Serenus. “Serenus intends to fill this need by being the bridge between the continent's unmet medical needs and the opportunity for global companies to enter a largely untapped and fertile commercial market.”

Serenus intends to use the money to fund its operational development and commercialization arrangements. It will also build out its late-stage clinical development.

“This transaction not only provides us with capital to accelerate the realization of our vision for the company, but also with talent and insight from accomplished global biopharmaceutical veterans and access to novel products through their extensive industry relationships to help us build a company with a lasting impact on the health of people in Africa,” Bairu continued.

Martin, who serves on the board for Malin, will now act as Serenus’ chairman of the board. John Given, a chairman of the Malin board and former executive vice president and general counsel of Elan, will become a Serenus board member as well.

“The management team assembled by Serenus brings together expertise in pharmaceutical distribution in Africa and in the region's commercial and regulatory practices," said Martin.



BioSpace Temperature Poll
Last week controversy erupted over the compensation package for Sanofi’s new CEO, Olivier Brandicourt, with several French government officials decrying the amount, calling it "incomprehensible." Brandicourt could walk off with as much as $4.5 million in a “golden handshake” payment in addition to making $4.76 million a year. That base figure is comprised by a fixed annual salary of $1.36 million a year, which is supplemented by a performance-related bonus of between 150 to 250 percent, as well as stock options and performance shares.

So BioSpace wants your opinion, what do you think?

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