Portfolio – Page 10

PE-backed WuXi Biologics Completes Hong Kong Re-listing

WuXi Biologics, a Chinese contract R&D services provider to the global pharmaceutical industry that was taken private by a PE-backed consortium in late 2015, gained 38% on its Hong Kong trading debut following a HK$3.97 billion ($510 million) IPO.

The company sold 192.9 million shares at HK$20.60 apiece, according to a filing, although the size of the offering could increase if the overallotment option is exercised. Its stock closed at HK$28.30 on June 13, valuing the entire business at approximately HK$32.3 billion ($4.14 billion). When WuXi, then known as WuXi PharmaTech, was de-listed from the New York Stock Exchange it was worth around $3.3 billion.

WuXi represents the third-largest privatization of a US-listed Chinese company, after Qihoo 360 and Focus Media. Of those three, it is the only one to achieve a re-listing in Hong Kong. Focus Media went public through a reverse merger in Shenzhen, a course of action also taken by Giant Interactive Group – which was subject to a $2.9 billion take-private – and expected to be taken by Qihoo.

The privatization of WuXi was supported by equity commitments from Ally Bridge Group – which initiated the deal with Ge Li, WuXi’s founder – Boyu Capital, Temasek Holdings, Hillhouse Capital, Ping An Insurance, Yunfeng Capital, Sequoia Capital, Legend Capital, and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank (SPDB). The consortium also secured $800 million in debt, while Li and his wife secured $300 million in financing to invest in the deal.

Ahead of the relisting, WuXi was restructured so that the existing investors hold stakes in an offshore entity, Biologics Holdings, which in turn holds 75.43% of the Hong Kong-listed vehicle. The dual share structure of the offshore entity means that Li has a 20.83% position in Biologics Holdings but a 56.82% voting interest.

The rest of Biologics Holdings – and the minority voting interest – is held by a vehicle in which the PE investors that backed the take-private have a 81.56% stake. Boyu is the largest investor with 27.3%, followed by Temasek (13.83%), Ally Bridge (12.58%), Hillhouse (10.65%), Ping An (8.38%), SPDB (2.52%), Yunfeng (2.1%), Sequoia (2.1%), and Legend (2.1%). Other investors in the vehicle include a fund set up by Li that has eight LPs. Among them is ASEAN China Investment Fund III, which is managed by UOB.

WuXi was set up in 2000 by four founders in a single laboratory. It started offering pharmaceutical and biotechnology R&D outsourcing services the following year. Multinational pharmaceutical companies were able to contract out the synthesis of small molecules that occurs at the beginning of the drug discovery process to lower-cost Chinese laboratories.

Following an IPO in 2007, WuXi built an integrated R&D services platform covering the entire drug discovery and development value chain, including capabilities in genomics and bioinformatics. It claims to be the only open-access biologics technology platform in the world offering end-to-end solutions. The company is the largest player in China’s biologics outsourcing services market with a 48% share and it ranks fifth globally with a 1.8% share, according to Frost & Sullivan.

WuXi generated revenue of RMB989 billion ($145.6 million) in 2016, up from RMB557 billion the previous year. Revenue from China-based clients more than doubled to RMB385.3 billion, although the US still accounts for more than half of the company’s overall total. Net income rose from RMB44.5 billion to RMB141.1 billion over the same period.

WuXi Biologics is Officially Listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange

HONG KONG, June 13, 2017 — On June 13, 2017, WuXi Biologics (Cayman) Inc. (“the Company”; stock code: 2269.HK) was officially listed during a grand listing ceremony at the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. Dr. Ge Li,Chairman of WuXi Biologics, Dr. Chris Chen,CEO of WuXi Biologics, and representatives from the Company, its intermediary institutions, and its collaborative partners, witnessed this important development milestone of the Company.

Headquartered in Wuxi city, Jiangsu province, with three operation sites in Wuxi, Shanghai and Suzhou respectively, WuXi Biologics is a leading global open-access biologics capability and technology enabling platform in the world with end-to-end solutions, empowering anyone and any company to discover, develop and manufacture biologics from concept to commercial manufacturing.

“The successful listing of WuXi Biologics on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange marks another important milestone in the history of the Company,” said Dr. Ge Li. “This will further accelerate our expansion in capabilities and capacities, strengthen our leadership position as the most comprehensive and integrated enabling platform, and will allow us to better enable innovation to benefit patients worldwide.”

“The successful listing on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong is a new starting point for WuXi Biologics,” said Dr. Chris Chen. “We will further standardize the operation and management of the Company, strictly abide by the Listing Rules, and diligently fulfill various regulatory obligations as a public company. We will reciprocate the trust of our collaborative partners, investors, and employees with strong performance, sustainable growth, and value for patients and society.”

About WuXi Biologics

WuXi Biologics (stock code: 2269.HK), a Hong Kong-listed company, is a leading global open-access biologics technology platform offering end-to-end solutions to empower organizations to discover, develop and manufacture biologics from concept to commercial manufacturing. Our company history and achievements demonstrate our commitment to providing a truly ONE-stop service offering and strong value proposition to our global clients. As of June 30, 2019, there were a total of 224 integrated projects, including 106 projects in pre-clinical development stage, 102 projects in early-phase (phase I and II) clinical development, 15 projects in late-phase (phase III) development and 1 project in commercial manufacturing. With total estimated capacity for biopharmaceutical production planned in China, Ireland, Singapore and US exceeding 280,000 liters by 2022, we will provide our biomanufacturing partners with a robust and premier-quality global supply chain network. For more information on WuXi Biologics, please visit www.wuxibiologics.com.

WuXi Biologics, WuXi AppTech’s IPO Could Benefit from Scarcity Value – Ally Bridge Founder Frank Yu

Wuxi Biologics has ‘scarcity value’, worth 10% to 15% of group

Future HK IPO of Shandong Luoxin is possible

The listings of Wuxi Biologics in Hong Kong and the remainder of Wuxi Pharmatech‘s assets in China will benefit from their scarcity value, according to Frank Yu, founder of Ally Bridge, the firm that led the delisting the Shanghai-based Wuxi Pharmatech from New York in 2015. Wuxi Biologics, which was incorporated in Feb 2014 and has been a wholly owned entity of WuXi PharmaTech since, will open the book for its USD 300m Hong Kong IPO on 25 May, this news service has learnt. Wuxi Biologics, a specialist in discovery, development and manufacturing of biologics, filed in January an application to list on the mainboard of the Hong Kong stock exchange. Two months later Shanghai-based Wuxi Apptech said it had mandated Huatai United Securities, to lead its mainland initial public offering. Wuxi Pharmatech, which went public on NYSE in 2007, acquired US company Apptech in 2008. Wuxi Pharmatech then changed its name to Wuxi Apptech but remained listed as Wuxi Pharmatech on NYSE, according to a person briefed on the situation. Yu, whose firm Ally Bridge invested more than USD 600m in the USD 3.3bn take private of Wuxi Pharmatech, which provides contract research outsourcing services, wouldn’t comment on possible IPO valuations or timing but said the biologics was worth around “10% to 15%” of Wuxi Pharmatech at the time of the delisting and noted the business’s value is enhanced due to “barriers of entry” in the sector. The lower end of the 10% to 15% range is in line with the biologics division’s revenue contribution to the group at end 2015. Based on Wuxi PharmaTech’s third-quarter 2015 report, it had total assets of USD 1,354.156m (CNY 8,593.61m based on the foreign-exchange rate on 1 Oct 2015). According to Wuxi Biologics IPO prospectus, its assets totaled CNY 601.112m as of 31 Dec 2015, roughly 7% of Wuxi Pharmatech’s assets as of end-2015, based on Dealreporteranalytics. The take-private of Wuxi Pharmatech, completed in December 2015, valued the company at 29x P/E (2015E), several notches higher than a selected contract research organization (CRO) peer group’s mean and median P/E multiple. According to Dealreporter analytics, peers Quintiles and Charles River were in 2Q15 trading with P/E multiples of 23.96x and 23.71x, respectively. Should the biologics IPO come first, then it could trade in line with the consensus forward 2018E P/E multiple of around 20x for peer 3Sbio, which was delisted in 2013 from the US at USD 369m (equity value) and is today worth HKD 27.7bn (USD 3.56bn) in Hong Kong, based on analysis by this news service. Last year this news service reported that Wuxi Biologics would look to raise USD 200m to USD 300m from the Hong Kong IPO and target a market value of around USD 1.3bn. This would require 2018 net income of around RMB 414m, which is around double its actual 2016 comparable figure. Wuxi Biologics draft financials indicate net income in 2016 grew around 200% from the previous year and this level of continued growth looks feasible based on the recent year-on-year earnings growth of peer 3Sbio. 3Sbio reported a net income of CNY 292m in 2014 on a revenue of CNY 1.1bn in revenue, compared with CNY 526m and CNY 1.7bn, respectively, in 2015. The biologics IPO will also provide some insight into the likely value for the future A-share company. Assuming the biologics unit trades post listing at around USD 1.2bn then a simple see-through calculation would value Wuxi Apptech at least USD 10bn on the A-share market.

This looks eminently possible purely based on the fact that other Chinese ADRs to have delisted from the US and relisted on the mainland or in Hong Kong, such as Focus Media, Giant Interactive, 3SBio and Perfect World, today have a combined stock market value of more than USD 40bn compared with a combined value at delisting of less than USD 8bn.

The listings of Wuxi Biologics in Hong Kong and the remainder of Wuxi Pharmatech‘s assets in China will benefit from their scarcity value, according to Frank Yu, founder of Ally Bridge, the firm that led the delisting the Shanghai-based Wuxi Pharmatech from New York in 2015. Wuxi Biologics, which was incorporated in Feb 2014 and has been a wholly owned entity of WuXi PharmaTech since, will open the book for its USD 300m Hong Kong IPO on 25 May, this news service has learnt. Wuxi Biologics, a specialist in discovery, development and manufacturing of biologics, filed in January an application to list on the mainborad of the Hong Kong stock exchange. Two months later Shanghai-based Wuxi Apptech said it had mandated Huatai United Securities, to lead its mainland initial public offering. Wuxi Pharmatech, which went public on NYSE in 2007, acquired US company Apptech in 2008. Wuxi Pharmatech then changed its name to Wuxi Apptech but remained listed as Wuxi Pharmatech on NYSE, according to a person briefed on the situation. Yu, whose firm Ally Bridge invested more than USD 600m in the USD 3.3bn take private of Wuxi Pharmatech, which provides contract research outsourcing services, wouldn’t comment on possible IPO valuations or timing but said the biologics was worth around “10% to 15%” of Wuxi Pharmatech at the time of the delisting and noted the business’s value is enhanced due to “barriers of entry” in the sector. The lower end of the 10% to 15% range is in line with the biologics division’s revenue contribution to the group at end 2015. Based on Wuxi PharmaTech’s third-quarter 2015 report, it had total assets of USD 1,354.156m (CNY 8,593.61m based on the foreign-exchange rate on 1 Oct 2015). According to Wuxi Biologics IPO prospectus, its assets totaled CNY 601.112m as of 31 Dec 2015, roughly 7% of Wuxi Pharmatech’s assets as of end-2015, based on Dealreporteranalytics. The take-private of Wuxi Pharmatech, completed in December 2015, valued the company at 29x P/E (2015E), several notches higher than a selected contract research organization (CRO) peer group’s mean and median P/E multiple. According to Dealreporter analytics, peers Quintiles and Charles River were in 2Q15 trading with P/E multiples of 23.96x and 23.71x, respectively. Should the biologics IPO come first, then it could trade in line with the consensus forward 2018E P/E multiple of around 20x for peer 3Sbio, which was delisted in 2013 from the US at USD 369m (equity value) and is today worth HKD 27.7bn (USD 3.56bn) in Hong Kong, based on analysis by this news service. Last year this news service reported that Wuxi Biologics would look to raise USD 200m to USD 300m from the Hong Kong IPO and target a market value of around USD 1.3bn. This would require 2018 net income of around RMB 414m, which is around double its actual 2016 comparable figure. Wuxi Biologics draft financials indicate net income in 2016 grew around 200% from the previous year and this level of continued growth looks feasible based on the recent year-on-year earnings growth of peer 3Sbio. 3Sbio reported a net income of CNY 292m in 2014 on a revenue of CNY 1.1bn in revenue, compared with CNY 526m and CNY 1.7bn, respectively, in 2015. The biologics IPO will also provide some insight into the likely value for the future A-share company. Assuming the biologics unit trades post listing at around USD 1.2bn then a simple see-through calculation would value Wuxi Apptech at least USD 10bn on the A-share market.

The Wuxi mainland IPO announcement came on the same day that Qihoo 360, the largest ever Chinese ADR take private at USD 9.4bn, said it had mandated the same financial advisor to lead its A-share IPO. At the time of its take-private Qihoo had told potential mainland investors it could be valued at around USD 50bn on a mainland stock exchange. Reports have noted that the two near simultaneous IPO announcements indicate the Chinese securities regulator, which closely controlled the pace of IPOs and in the past 12 months has increased regulatory scrutiny of backdoor listings, has also recognised it needs to improve the quality of companies on its stock exchanges and allow firms such as Qihoo and Wuxi to jump the IPO queue. Yu pointed out said that the added attraction of Wuxi Apptech is that global pharma groups that utilize the services company do not need to have a manufacturing base in the country. According to one hedge fund, the China IPOs of Qihoo and Wuxi Apptech are eagerly anticipated not least because they could reignite the Chinese ADR delist/relist trend that has somewhat slowed due to China’s securities regulator’s (CSRC) crackdown on back door listings of low quality companies. While investors await the two Wuxi relistings, Ally Bridge itself is pressing ahead with its second buyout deal, which is the ongoing take private of Chinese pharmaceutical manufacturing, sales and marketing company Shandong Luoxin [HKG:8058]. “They are both good but very different companies,” said Yu. “Wuxi is a world class CRO with scarcity value while Luoxin is very much a China focused pharmaceutical manufacturing, sales and marketing company.” The similarity is that both needed work done which was better carried out in a private setting, he added. Considering how hot the Chinese healthcare sector is right now, investors will be interested to hear that although “neither Wuxi or the ongoing Luoxin take private proposal were primarily driven with relistings in mind, we could relist Luoxin in Hong Kong further down the line, that is possible,” said Yu. by Ed Vinales in Hong Kong, with additional reporting by George Shen and analytics by Derek Li marketing company Shandong Luoxin [HKG:8058]. “They are both good but very different companies,” said Yu. “Wuxi is a world class CRO with scarcity value while Luoxin is very much a China focused pharmaceutical manufacturing, sales and marketing company.” The similarity is that both needed work done which was better carried out in a private setting, he added. Considering how hot the Chinese healthcare sector is right now, investors will be interested to hear that although “neither Wuxi or the ongoing Luoxin take private proposal were primarily driven with relistings in mind, we could relist Luoxin in Hong Kong further down the line, that is possible,” said Yu. by Ed Vinales in Hong Kong, with additional reporting by George Shen and analytics by Derek Li

Sorrento Announces Closing of Public Offering of Common Stock

SAN DIEGO, April 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: SRNE) (“Sorrento”), an antibody-centric, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing new treatments for cancer and other unmet medical needs, today announced the closing of its previously announced underwritten public offering of 23,625,084 shares of its common stock at a public offering price of $2.00 per share, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by Sorrento. The net proceeds to Sorrento from this offering were approximately $43.5 million, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other estimated offering expenses.

Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. acted as the lead book-running manager for the offering. FBR Capital Markets & Co. acted as a joint book-running manager. Oppenheimer & Co. and Aegis Capital Corp. acted as co-lead managers and Joseph Gunnar & Co., Rodman & Renshaw and Roth Capital Partners acted as co-managers.

The securities described above were offered by Sorrento pursuant to a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-199849) previously filed with and declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on December 3, 2014. A final prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus related to the offering was filed with the SEC on April 14, 2017 and is available on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. Copies of the final prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to the offering may also be obtained from Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., Attention: Capital Markets, 499 Park Ave., 6th Floor, New York, New York 10022, or by telephone at 212-829-7122, or by e-mail at prospectus@cantor.com.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

About Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc.

Sorrento is an antibody-centric, clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing new treatments for immuno-oncology, inflammation and autoimmune diseases. Sorrento’s lead product candidates include immunotherapies focused on the treatment of both solid tumors and hematological malignancies, as well as late stage pain products.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements related to Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. and its subsidiaries under the safe harbor provisions of Section 21E of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding the amount of proceeds expected from the offering and other matters that are described in Sorrento’s most recent periodic reports filed with the SEC, including Sorrento’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016, as amended, and the final prospectus supplement related to the offering filed with the SEC on April 14, 2017, including the risk factors set forth in those filings. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement in this press release except as required by law.

Sorrento® and the Sorrento logo are registered trademarks of Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc.

All other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners.

Shandong Luoxin Pharmaceutical Receives A Voluntary Conditional Offer

Proposed Offer Price at HK$17 Per H Share; A Premium of More Than 220% over Net Asset Value of Each Share

HONG KONG, Apr 11, 2017 – (ACN Newswire) – Shandong Luoxin Pharmaceutical Group Stock Co., Ltd. (“Shandong Luoxin” or the “Group”) (stock code: 8058) has announced that Giant Star Global (HK) Limited (“Giant Star HK”) and Ally Bridge Flagship LX (HK) Limited (“Ally Bridge Flagship”) (“Joint Offerors”) have extended a voluntary conditional offer (the “Offer”) for all the issued H shares in Shandong Luoxin (other than those already owned, controlled or agreed to be acquired by the Joint Offerors and parties acting in concert with any of them who have undertaken not to accept the Offer) and proposed the withdrawal of listing of its H shares from The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the “Stock Exchange”).

The offer price is HK$17 in cash for each H share, a premium of approximately 223.81% over RMB4.62 which is the audited consolidated net asset value of each share as at 31 December 2016. The offer price is (1) a premium of approximately 31.78% over HK$12.90 which is the closing price per H share as quoted on the Stock Exchange on the last trading date (6 March 2017); (2) a premium of approximately 39.69% over HK$12.17 which is the average closing price per H share as quoted on the Stock Exchange for the 30 trading days up to and including the last trading date; (3) a premium of approximately 54.55% over HK$11.00 which is the average closing price per H share as quoted on the Stock Exchange for the 90 trading days up to and including the last trading date; (4) a premium of approximately 50.44% over HK$11.30 which is the average closing price per H Share as quoted on the Stock Exchange for the 180 trading days up to and including the last trading date. Based on the cash offer price of HK$17.00 per H share and the total number of H shares subject to the Offer of 137,796,627 H shares, the total consideration of the Offer (assuming the Offer is accepted in full and there are no changes in the share capital of Shandong Luoxin) is approximately HK$2,342,542,659. Of the total consideration, HK$1,570,440,599 would be financed by Giant Star HK by cash or the credit facility available under the Pingan Loan Facility or a combination of the above; and the rest of HK$772,102,060 would be financed by Ally Bridge Flagship by a combination of a credit facility available under the SHK Facility Letter and cash from its internal resources.

Shandong Luoxin is principally engaged in the manufacturing and distribution of pharmaceutical products and has registered satisfactory profitability since its listing in December 2005. Nevertheless, the operating environment of pharmaceutical enterprises has become difficult since 2015 due to the sustained decrease in tender prices, drug proportion, medical insurance premium control, the introduction of policies like quality consistency evaluation for generic drugs, reform on registration category for chemical drugs and reform on assessment and approval for pharmaceutical products. Therefore, the Group is also facing increasing pressure on its sales and profitability. For the year ended 31 December 2016, the Group’s profit attributable to shareholders decreased by 23.07% year-on-year.

In view of the numerous newly implemented industry policies mentioned above, the Group is not only devoting significant efforts on the establishment of its sales teams and proactively broadening its sales network, it is also adjusting its operating strategies in order to adapt to changes in the industry and market demand trends by investing additional resources in scientific research. However, it is anticipated that these measures taken by the Group will result in squeeze on its net profit margin in the short-to-mid-term. As a publicly listed company, investors would have different requirements with regard to their return on investment, which may differ from the development plan of the Group in the long run. It is believed that the Offer will enable the Group to have greater flexibility to make timely investment decision and to focus on its long-term development.

The Joint Offerors believe that the Offer provides a compelling opportunity for the H shareholders to dispose of their H shares at an attractive premium over the prevailing market price without incurring any illiquidity discount. The offer price represents 65.38 times the offer price of the H shares at the initial public offering, therefore bringing satisfactory return to the shareholders. In addition, considering the low trading volume in the H shares, the Offer presents an opportunity for the H shareholders to dispose of their H shares and exit their investment for cash proceeds. Furthermore, assuming the Offer will become unconditional, the Group will make an application for the listing of the H shares to be withdrawn from the Stock Exchange in accordance with the GEM Listing Rules. If the H shares are delisted from the Stock Exchange, the H shareholders will hold the securities that are not listed and the liquidity of the H shares will be severely reduced.

The Offer will initially be open for acceptances from 11 April 2017. The extraordinary general meeting (EGM) and the H share class meeting of Shandong Luoxin for the purpose of considering and approving the proposed withdrawal of listing of the H shares of Shandong Luoxin from the Stock Exchange, will be held at 10:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m., respectively, on 29 May 2017. Once all of the conditions under the Offer have been either fulfilled or waived (as applicable), the Offer will be declared unconditional and the Offer will be extended for a subsequent period of at least 28 days before the Offer is closed in order to allow sufficient time for those H shareholders who have not initially accepted the Offer to accept the Offer or to process the transfer of their H shares.

As the independent financial adviser, KGI Capital Asia Limited considers the terms of the proposal can provide a valuable opportunity for the independent H shareholders to realize their investments in the Group, and are fair and reasonable and in the interests of the independent shareholders, and accordingly advises the independent committee to recommend the independent shareholders to accept the Offer and vote in favour of the resolution of the delisting at the H share class meeting and the EGM having taken into account the following factors and reasons:(i) despite the Group is profitable, it is experiencing continuous decline in profit due to narrowing in net profit margin as a result of heavy research and development cost and the cost of expanding sales force; (ii) the overall slowdown of China’s pharmaceutical industry, tightening industry policies, issuance of new classification measure of drug registration and implementation of quality consistency evaluation; (iii) the H share offer price represents premiums over the prevailing H share price; (iv) the general underperformance of the H share price compared to the HSI and HSCEI during the Pre-Announcement Period , suggesting a lack of significant retail and/or institutional investors’ interest in the Group relative to the overall market performance; (v) the thin trading volume in the H shares during the Review Period1, indicating that the proposal provides a valuable opportunity for the independent H shareholders to realise their investments in the Group, which would not normally be available through the market given the thin trading liquidity; and (vi) the 2016 P/E ratio and P/B ratio implied by the H share offer price were both higher than the respective average ratios as at the latest practicable date (7 April 2017) of the comparable companies.

Hong Kong’s Ally Bridge Invests In Two European Biopharmas

Ally Bridge Group announced it has made investments in two European biopharmas: Galenica AG of Switzerland, and Nabriva , an Austrian-US pharma. Galenica’s subsidiary Vifor Pharma, makes iron supplements and other products for chronic kidney disease. Nabriva develops next-gen antibiotics for bacterial infections, especially drug-resistant bacteria. Ally has $1.5 billion under management, all in life science companies, which are located in the US, Europe and China. It did not disclose the size of either investment.

Boston Scientific Closes EndoChoice Acquisition

MARLBOROUGH, Mass., Nov. 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) today announced the close of its acquisition of EndoChoice Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: GI). With the completion of the acquisition, EndoChoice will become part of the Boston Scientific Endoscopy business. EndoChoice is an Alpharetta, Georgia based company focused on the development and commercialization of infection control products, pathology services and single-use devices for specialists treating a wide range of gastrointestinal (GI) conditions.

The two organizations announced a definitive agreement on September 27, 2016 for Boston Scientific to acquire the EndoChoice business at a cash price of $8.00 per share for an approximate total of $210 million.

“We are excited to provide physicians more comprehensive solutions to help assess, diagnose and treat patients with GI conditions,” said Art Butcher, senior vice president and president, Endoscopy, Boston Scientific. “Boston Scientific is a leader in the field of endoscopy and we are committed to providing innovative products and services to meet the changing and growing needs within the field.”

The expanded portfolio will deliver a comprehensive array of GI services and devices for physicians in group practice settings as well as hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers. The combined business will reach growing areas within the GI continuum of care, including infection control and pathology lab services. Boston Scientific continues to evaluate strategic options for the Full Spectrum Endoscopy (FUSE®) colonoscope, and anticipates providing an update on its plans for the platform by the end of the year.

The acquisition is expected to be breakeven to Boston Scientific adjusted earnings per share in 2017, and accretive thereafter. The transaction is expected to be less accretive (or dilutive, as the case may be) on a GAAP basis, due to amortization expense and transaction and integration costs. EndoChoice generated approximately $75 million of total sales in the twelve-month period ended September 30, 2016.

About Boston Scientific

Boston Scientific transforms lives through innovative medical solutions that improve the health of patients around the world. As a global medical technology leader for more than 35 years, we advance science for life by providing a broad range of high performance solutions that address unmet patient needs and reduce the cost of healthcare. For more information, visit www.bostonscientific.com and connect on Twitter and Facebook. For more information on the Boston Scientific endoscopy business visit http://www.bostonscientific.com/en-US/medical-specialties/gastroenterology.html.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words like “anticipate,” “expect,” “project,” “believe,” “plan,” “estimate,” “intend” and similar words. These forward-looking statements are based on our beliefs, assumptions and estimates using information available to us at the time and are not intended to be guarantees of future events or performance. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements regarding our adjusted earnings per share, our product launches and product performance and impact. If our underlying assumptions turn out to be incorrect, or if certain risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially from the expectations and projections expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements. These factors, in some cases, have affected and in the future (together with other factors) could affect our ability to implement our business strategy and may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the statements expressed in this press release. As a result, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any of our forward-looking statements.

Factors that may cause such differences include, among other things: future economic, competitive, reimbursement and regulatory conditions; new product introductions; demographic trends; the closing and integration of acquisitions; intellectual property; litigation; financial market conditions; and future business decisions made by us and our competitors. All of these factors are difficult or impossible to predict accurately and many of them are beyond our control. For a further list and description of these and other important risks and uncertainties that may affect our future operations, see Part I, Item 1A – Risk Factors in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which we may update in Part II, Item 1A – Risk Factors in Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q we have filed or will file hereafter. We disclaim any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in our expectations or in events, conditions or circumstances on which those expectations may be based, or that may affect the likelihood that actual results will differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. This cautionary statement is applicable to all forward-looking statements contained in this document.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement our consolidated financial statements presented on a GAAP basis, we disclose certain non-GAAP financial measures including adjusted earnings per share. Adjusted earnings per share excludes goodwill and intangible asset impairment charges; acquisition-, divestiture-, litigation- and restructuring-related charges and credits; certain discrete tax items and amortization expense. Non-GAAP measures such as adjusted earnings per share are not in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States. The GAAP financial measure most directly comparable to adjusted earnings per share is GAAP earnings per share. The difference between our estimated impact of the acquisition on our GAAP and adjusted earnings per share relates to amortization expense on acquired intangible assets and acquisition-related net charges, which primarily include exit costs and other fees. These amounts are excluded by the Company for purposes of measuring adjusted earnings per share.

Management uses adjusted earnings per share along with other supplemental non-GAAP measures to evaluate performance period over period, to analyze the underlying trends in our business, to assess its performance relative to its competitors, and to establish operational goals and forecasts that are used in allocating resources. Non-GAAP financial measures, including adjusted earnings per share, should not be considered in isolation from or as a replacement for GAAP financial measures. We believe that presenting non-GAAP financial measures in addition to GAAP financial measures provides investors greater transparency to the information used by our management for its financial and operational decision-making and allows investors to see our results “through the eyes” of management. We further believe that providing this information better enables our investors to understand our operating performance and to evaluate the methodology used by management to evaluate and measure such performance.

How Ally Bridge Group Expects to Build on Top of WuXi Arbitrage Play

China’s Ally Bridge Group hit the investment world’s radar in 2015 with its audacious move to take CRO WuXi PharmaTech Inc. private. If the firm and its partners can engineer the first fruits of that move with the listing of WuXi’s biologics unit in Hong Kong this year, the question is what will be its next moves to generate outsized returns for its investors.

Ally Bridge Group Congratulates Medtech SA on its Acquisition by Zimmer Biomet

HONG KONG, July 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Ally Bridge Group (“ABG”), a leading China-global cross-border healthcare-focused investment group, is pleased to announce the sale of its entire stake in Medtech SA (“Medtech” or the “Company”) to Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. (“Zimmer Biomet”), a leading global orthopedics company based in Warsaw, Indiana, USA. Medtech is a surgical robot company headquartered in Montpellier, France, listed on Euronext Paris Stock Exchange with the stock symbol ROSA. Medtech’s product portfolio includes two innovative robots for minimally invasive brain and spine procedures (“ROSA Brain” and “ROSA Spine”). Both products are FDA approved and CE marked.

ABG, on a sole basis, completed a structured investment in Medtech SA in December 2015.

“This acquisition of Medtech by Zimmer Biomet is a powerful validation of the innovative technologies — and an impressive global commercial footprint — of the Company under the leadership of its Founder and CEO, Bertin Nahum,” said Frank Yu, Founder, CEO and CIO of Ally Bridge Group. “We expect Zimmer Biomet’s industry-leading position to enable Medtech’s innovative minimally invasive surgical robots to reach a much greater number of patients suffering from neurological and spine disorders globally.”

“Ally Bridge Group has been a true global partner — and helpful to us particularly in China and the U.S.,” said Bertin Nahum, Founder and CEO of Medtech SA.

About Ally Bridge Group

Ally Bridge Group (“ABG”) is a global healthcare-focused investment group, founded and led by Mr. Frank Yu (formerly a Managing Director of Goldman Sachs and Och-Ziff Capital) with a global healthcare investment portfolio in China, the United States, and Europe and more than USD1 billion in assets under management. ABG excels in helping its portfolio companies to forge strategic/operational partnerships and mergers and acquisitions on a global basis. In 2015, ABG initiated, led and completed the US$3.3billion take-private of WuXi PharmaTech, a leading global life science service provider. In recent months, ABG, as a strategic investor, completed its investments in two US biotech companies Tesaro (TSRO) and Sorrento (SRNE) as part of a total transaction value of over USD300 million.

About Medtech SA

Founded in 2002 by Bertin Nahum and based in Montpellier, France, Medtech is a leader in the design, development and marketing of innovative robotic applications to assist surgeons during their medico-surgical interventions, thus contributing to the implementation of safer, more efficient, less invasive treatment.

Sorrento Closes $150 Million Private Placement Investments

SAN DIEGO, June 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: SRNE; “Sorrento”), an antibody-centric, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing new treatments for cancer and other unmet medical needs announced today that it has closed on $150 million related to the private placements of common stock and warrants previously announced by the company on April 4, 2016.

Ally Bridge Group (“ABG”), a global healthcare-focused investment group based in Hong Kong, led the financing and, together with Beijing Shijilongxin Investment Co., Ltd. (“Beijing Shijilongxin”), and FREJOY Investment Management Co., Ltd. (“Frejoy”) collectively purchased 25,225,221 shares of common stock at $5.55 per share, and warrants to purchase 5,055,642 shares of common stock for total consideration of $140 million.

On May 2, 2016, Sorrento announced that it had closed its private placement of common stock and warrants with the Yuhan Corporation of South Korea for gross proceeds of $10 million.

All warrants issued have a term of three years and an exercise price of $8.50 per share. Proceeds from the financing will primarily be used to support the development of Sorrento’s product pipeline and for general corporate purposes.

“Sorrento is very pleased to have the support of such a strong group of strategic and financial investors led by Ally Bridge Group,” said Dr. Henry Ji, President and CEO of Sorrento Therapeutics. “The completion of this significant financing despite the highly volatile and difficult US biotech capital markets enables the development of our internal pipeline as well as the strengthening of Sorrento’s partnership strategy for drug development in Asia and expanding it on a global basis.”

“Ally Bridge Group has been working closely with Dr. Ji and Sorrento’s management over the last few months in bringing together a syndicate of strategic and financial investors not just with financing but more importantly new drug development partnerships from Korea to China,” said Frank Yu, Founder and CEO of ABG. “We are confident in the management team and its corporate strategy of leveraging internal technologies and global partnerships to unlock and maximize its value for the shareholders.”

The shares, warrants and shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or with any securities regulatory authority of any state or other jurisdiction, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to U.S. persons absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.