Arix Bioscience
plc
Financial
update on Harpoon Therapeutics acquisition by Merck
(MSD)
LONDON, 19 January 2024:
Arix Bioscience plc (“Arix” or
the “Company”) (LSE: ARIX), a global venture capital company
focused on investing in breakthrough biotechnology companies,
provides a financial update on its expected returns from the
Harpoon Therapeutics (NASDAQ: HARP) ("Harpoon") acquisition by
Merck (NYSE: MRK) following the announcement that Merck (known as
MSD outside the United States and Canada), through a subsidiary,
agreed to acquire Harpoon for $23.00 per share in cash for an
approximate total equity value of $680 million.
The sale of Harpoon is expected
to deliver net proceeds to Arix of approximately $18.9 million (£14.9 million [1]).
This equates to a £10.9 million (8p per share) increase in Arix’s £4 million
prior holding value of its Harpoon interests and, when combined
with prior realisations of £12.5 million, represents an overall
return of 1.2x on the £23.3 million total capital invested in Harpoon since Arix
first invested. [2]
Peregrine
Moncreiffe, Chairman of Arix, commented: “Arix has been an investor in Harpoon
Therapeutics since 2017, and it is great to see a company that we
have been a part of since the early stages move through the clinic
and receive recognition for the platform they have worked hard to
develop. This acquisition by Merck provides significant potential
for bringing life-saving treatment to cancer patients as they
enhance their oncology pipeline. In what has been a difficult time
across the biotech sector we see this M&A activity as a further
sign of market recovery.”
The transaction is expected to
close in the first half of 2024.
[1] At
prevailing GBP/USD FX rate on 18 January 2024. Based on $23 per share for
Arix’s public shareholding, net $13 per share for Arix’s warrant
shares and $3,500 per Series A Preferred share, plus accrued
interest at 8%
[2] £4.0
million valuation at 30 June 2023, as reported at interim results
2023, for listed and Series A Preferred shares
[ENDS]
Enquiries
For more information on Arix,
please contact:
Arix Bioscience
plc
+44 (0)20 7290 1050
ir@arixbioscience.com
Powerscourt
Group
Sarah MacLeod, Nick Johnson, Molly Ring
+44 (0)20 7250 1446
arix@powerscourt-group.com
About Arix
Bioscience plc
Arix Bioscience plc is a global
venture capital company focused on investing in breakthrough
biotechnology companies around cutting-edge advances in life
sciences.
We collaborate
with exceptional entrepreneurs and provide the capital, expertise,
and global networks to help accelerate their ideas into important
new treatments for patients. As a listed company, we are able to
bring this exciting growth phase of our industry to a broader range
of investors. www.arixbioscience.com
