Petroleum transporter Dorian LPG sets terms for $135 million IPO

      
Dorian LPG, an international liquefied petroleum gas shipping company, announced terms for its IPO on Monday. The Stamford, CT-based company plans to raise $135 million by offering 7.1 million shares at a price range of $18 to $20. At the midpoint of the proposed range, Dorian LPG would command a market value of $1.1 billion. 

Dorian LPG, which was founded in 2013 and booked $39 million in sales for the 12 months ended March 31, 2013, plans to list on the NYSE under the symbol LPG. It currently trades on the Norwegian OTC market under the symbol DORIAN, and initially filed confidentially on January 21, 2014. J.P. Morgan, UBS Investment Bank, Clarkson Capital Markets and Wells Fargo Securities are the joint bookrunners on the deal. It is expected to price next week .
By Renaissance Capital
Source: http://www.nasdaq.com/article/petroleum-transporter-dorian-lpg-sets-terms-for-135-million-ipo-cm347804#ixzz30Depl6KE

4 US IPOs planned for the week of Apr 28

The following IPOs are expected to price this week : 

Aldeyra Therapeutics ( ALDX ), a clinical-stage biotech developing treatments for rare skin and eye diseases, plans to raise $13 million by offering 1.2 million shares at a price range of $10.00 to $12.00. At the midpoint of the proposed range, Aldeyra Therapeutics would command a market value of $63 million. Aldeyra Therapeutics, which was founded in 2004, booked $0 million in sales over the last 12 months. The Burlington, MA-based company plans to list on the NASDAQ under the symbol ALDX. Aegis Capital is the lead bookrunner on the deal. (Previously filed to raise $25mm offering 2.3 million shares at the same price range.) 



Ares Management, LP (ARES), an alternative asset management firm with $74 billion in AUM, plans to raise $400 million by offering 18.2 million shares at a price range of $21.00 to $23.00. At the midpoint of the proposed range, Ares Management, LP would command a market value of $4.7 billion. Ares Management, LP, which was founded in 1997, booked $693 million in sales over the last 12 months. The Los Angeles, CA-based company plans to list on the NYSE under the symbol ARES. J.P. Morgan, BofA Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are the joint bookrunners on the deal. 


Papa Murphy's ( FRSH ), the fifth largest pizza chain in the US, plans to raise $70 million by offering 5.8 million shares at a price range of $11.00 to $13.00. At the midpoint of the



 proposed range, Papa Murphy's would command a market value of $204 million. Papa Murphy's, which was founded in 1981, booked $80 million in sales over the last 12 months. The Vancouver, WA-based company plans to list on the NASDAQ under the symbol FRSH.

 Jefferies & Co., Baird and Wells Fargo Securities are the joint bookrunners on the deal. 

SCYNEXIS ( SCYX ), a biotech developing treatments for life-threatening fungal infections, plans to raise $55 million by offering 7.3 million shares at a price range of $7.00 to $8.00. At the midpoint of the proposed range, SCYNEXIS would command a market value of $143


 million. SCYNEXIS, which was founded in 1999, booked $17 million in sales over the last 12 months. The Durham, NC-based company plans to list on the NASDAQ under the symbol 

SCYX. RBC Capital Markets and Canaccord Genuity are the joint bookrunners on the deal. (Revised terms on 4/2/14. Previously planned to offer 4.2mm shares at $12-$14.) 

Renaissance Capital will have Pre-IPO Research available on each of these upcoming IPOs prior to its pricing. 

Last week, there were 3 IPO pricings . None of last week's IPOs ended in positive territory. Quotient ( QTNTU ), which is developing a diagnostics test for grouping and disease screening blood samples, was the best of the group, ending the week down 7% from its IPO price.

By Renaissance Capital,
Source: http://www.nasdaq.com/article/4-us-ipos-planned-for-the-week-of-apr-28-cm347737#ixzz30DTxsz40

IPO Preview: Vital Therapies

Summary

• Biotherapeutic company focused on developing a cell-based therapy targeting the treatment of all forms of acute liver failure.
• Originally tried to IPO November 21, 2013.
• Accumulated deficit of ($103) million.

Based in San Diego, CA, Vital Therapies (VTL) scheduled a $63 million IPO on the Nasdaq with a market capitalization of $295 million at a price range midpoint of $14 for Thursday, April 17, 2014.

VTL originally tried to IPO November 21, 2013, to raise $75 million at a $275 million market cap.

The full IPO calendar is available at IPOpremium.

SEC Documents
Manager, Joint managers: Credit Suisse, William Blair
Co-Managers: Cowen and Company, Canaccord Genuity, BTIG

Valuation
Glossary

Valuation Ratios	Mrkt	Price /	Price /	Price /	Price /	% offered
	Cap (MM)	Sls	Erngs	BkVlue	TanBV	in IPO
Vital Therapies	$295	n/a	-9.0	2.6	2.6	21%

Summary
VTL is a biotherapeutic company focused on developing a cell-based therapy targeting the treatment of all forms of acute liver failure.

VTL is currently conducting three phase three clinical trials.

Accumulated deficit of ($103) million.

Conclusion
Insiders have indicated an interest in purchasing up to $20 (32%) of the IPO at the IPO price.

VTL has no current collaborations and is in Phase 3 clinical trials.

The rating on VTL is neutral.

To put the conclusions and observations in context, the following is reorganized, edited and summarized from the full S-1 referenced above.

Business
VTL is a biotherapeutic company focused on developing a cell-based therapy targeting the treatment of all forms of acute liver failure.

VTL's product candidate, the ELAD System, or ELAD, is a bio-artificial liver therapy that operates outside the body, or extracorporeal, and is designed to allow the patient's own liver to regenerate to a healthy state, or to stabilize the patient until transplant.

VTL believes that ELAD has the potential to be a life-saving therapy in patients suffering from acute liver failure. ELAD has received orphan designation in the United States and Europe for the treatment of acute liver failure.

Market
Acute liver failure, including acute-on-chronic, surgically-induced and fulminant liver failures, represents a serious unmet medical need affecting at least 30,000 patients annually in the United States with similar incidence rates in Europe.

Except for liver transplant, which is limited by a shortage of donor organs, standard-of-care treatment focuses on the management of disease complications, does not restore lost liver function, and is associated with high mortality.

VTL believes that ELAD holds considerable therapeutic promise because it has shown trends indicating the potential to increase survival rates in patients with acute liver failure.

ELAD Therapy
Prior to the initiation of VTL's ongoing Phase 3 clinical trial program, more than 150 subjects have received ELAD therapy in seven clinical trials and through a compassionate use program, which VTL believes collectively show a promising therapeutic profile.

ELAD is an allogeneic cellular therapy system incorporating VTL's human liver-derived C3A cells contained in four hollow fiber cartridges that are combined with single use customized disposable sets and a reuseable bedside unit to provide extracorporeal circulation of blood plasma to the C3A cells and return of treated plasma back to the patient. The C3A cells remain within these four ELAD cartridges during the treatment session and only the treated plasma, which is later reconstituted with the patient's blood cells, is returned to the patient.

VTL has customized the liver-derived C3A cell line to create an optimized bank of cells for use in the ELAD system that VTL cultures and expands using proprietary techniques.

These cells have been shown to retain many key synthetic and metabolic processes of normal human hepatocytes, the primary functional cell of the liver. The four ELAD cartridges collectively contain 440 grams, or one pound, of C3A cells.

The patient's blood plasma is treated by VTL's C3A cells in a single session of continuous therapy lasting between three and ten days. VTL believes that ELAD therapy facilitates the recovery of liver function and has the potential to improve clinical outcomes and increase the likelihood of survival in patients with acute liver failure.

Clinical trialsVTL is currently enrolling patients in one Phase 3 clinical trial and has regulatory allowance to begin enrolling patients in a second Phase 3 trial, each in various forms of acute liver failure.

In March 2013, VTL initiated VTI-208, a Phase 3 randomized, controlled clinical trial in 200 subjects with alcohol-induced liver decompensation, or AILD.

As of April 2, 2014, 90 subjects had been enrolled in this trial and 47 clinical sites were open for subject enrollment.

In addition, VTL obtained regulatory allowance in the United States, United Kingdom, Spain and Australia to begin enrolling patients and have initiated clinical sites in a second Phase 3 randomized, controlled clinical trial, VTI-210, in 120 subjects with severe acute alcoholic hepatitis, or AAH, which is a subset of AILD.

VTL expects the enrollment of subjects in VTI-210 to begin in the first half of 2014.

Intellectual propertyAs of September 30, 2013, VTL is the owner of record of three issued U.S. patents and over a dozen issued or allowed foreign patents. VTL's key U.S. patent, which it believes covers its ELAD system, claims a method of using C3A cells to treat a patient's blood and is currently set to expire in April 2027, unless extended further.

In addition, in September 2013, VTL received notice of allowance from the United States Patent & Trademark Office for a patent application with claims covering an extracorporeal device configuration, which VTL believes to include its ELAD system, independent of cell-type used.

Foreign counterparts of this patent and allowed application have been issued in Australia, Canada, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea and Taiwan and remain under review in certain other jurisdictions including Europe, Brazil, China, India and the Philippines.

Competition
At least four companies have prior research work on various human hepatocyte cell lines including Exten Industries, Hepalife Technologies, Fresenius, and Hybrid Organ GmbH.

In addition, the University College London, and the University of Amsterdam and its spinout Hep-Art Medical Devices are actively pursuing animal research in this area.

Several companies have also attempted to develop extracorporeal therapy based upon primary porcine hepatocytes, although ongoing research in this area is difficult to ascertain.

Two commercially available liver dialysis systems, from Gambro and Fresenius, have undergone extensive clinical development, although both have failed to show an improvement in long-term survival among patients with acute liver failure.

5% stockholdersTrusts and Other Entities Affiliated with Muneer A. Satter 48.6%
Terence E. Winters, Ph.D. 5.57%
Entities Affiliated with BSL Entities 5.24%

Use of proceeds
VTL expects to net $54 million from its IPO. Proceeds are allocated as follows:

$42.2 million of the net proceeds to fund the clinical development of the ELAD System and the remainder for working capital and other general corporate purposes.

VTL believes that the net proceeds from this offering and existing cash and cash equivalents will be sufficient to fund operations through at least the next 24 months.

In particular, VTL believes that the net proceeds from this offering and existing cash and cash equivalents will be sufficient to fund development through receipt of initial data from VTL's leading Phase 3 clinical trials.

Disclaimer: This VTL IPO report is based on a reading and analysis of VTL's S-1 filing, which can be found here, and a separate, independent analysis by IPOdesktop.com. There are no unattributed direct quotes in this article.|  1 comment |  About: VTL

Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. (More...)

Source: http://seekingalpha.com/article/2146103-ipo-preview-vital-therapies

IPO Preview: Quotient

Summary

• An established, commercial-stage diagnostics company.
• Expects operating losses will continue at least for the next several years.
• Losses expected due to continuation of its investment in the development and commercialization of MosaiQ™.

Based in Midlothian, United Kingdom, Quotient (QTNT) scheduled a $75 million IPO on the Nasdaq with a market capitalization of $216 million at a price range midpoint of $15 for Wednesday, April 16, 2014.

The full IPO calendar is available at IPOpremium.

SEC Documents
Manager, Joint managers: UBS Investment Bank, Baird, Cowen & Company

Co-Managers: None

End of lockup (180 days): Monday, October 13, 2014

End of 25-day quiet period: Monday, May 12, 2014

Valuation

Glossary

Valuation Ratios	Mrkt	Price /	Price /	Price /	Price /	% offered
Annualizing Dec 9 mos	Cap (MM)	Sls	Erngs	BkVlue	TanBV	in IPO
Quotient	$216	10.7	-32.4	3.0	3.1	35%

Conclusion

The rating on QTNT is neutral.

QTNT expects operating losses will continue at least for the next several years as the company continues its investment in the development and commercialization of MosaiQ™.

Commercial products aren't expected until 2016 and 2017 in, respectively, Europe and the US.

QTNT is priced at 11 times sales and 3 times book.

To put the conclusions and observations in context, the following is reorganized, edited and summarized from the full S-1 referenced above.

Summary
QTNT is an established, commercial-stage diagnostics company committed to reducing healthcare costs and improving patient care through the development and commercialization of innovative tests for blood grouping and serological disease screening, commonly referred to as transfusion diagnostics.

Revenue
QTNT currently generates revenue from the sale of conventional reagent products directly to hospitals, donor collection agencies and independent testing laboratories in the United States, the United Kingdom and to distributors in Europe and the rest of the world, and indirectly through sales to its OEM customers.

For the nine months ended December '13, revenue increased 38% to $15 million and losses increased to $5 million, or 33% of revenue.

Business

Blood grouping involves specific procedures performed at donor or patient testing laboratories to characterize blood, which includes antigen typing and antibody identification.

Through its subsidiary Alba Biosciences Limited, or Alba, QTNT has over 30 years' experience manufacturing and supplying conventional reagent products used for blood grouping within the $2.8 billion global transfusion diagnostics market.

MosaiQ™

QTNT is developing MosaiQ™, its proprietary technology platform, to better address the comprehensive needs of this large and established market.

If approved for sale, QTNT anticipates full commercial launch for MosaiQ™ in Europe during the second half of 2016 and in the United States during the first half of 2017.

Transformative technology

QTNT believes MosaiQ™ has the potential to be a transformative technology, significantly reducing the cost of blood grouping in the donor and patient testing environments, while improving patient outcomes.

Transfusion medicine

Transfusion medicine demands the highest standard of performance, quality and service.

However, there has not been a major advancement in the automation of transfusion diagnostics over the past two decades.

Consequently, complex and expensive manual testing procedures remain necessary in both donor and patient testing laboratories.

QTNT believes that, if approved for sale, MosaiQ™ will be the first commercially available, fully automated testing platform capable of simultaneously identifying all clinically significant blood-group antigens and antibodies in either donor or patient blood, eliminating manual testing.

MosaiQ™ is also designed to perform all currently mandated serological disease screening tests, such as HIV and Hepatitis, and enable the low cost detection of additional pathogens, thereby increasing the safety of the blood supply.

Growth plan

MosaiQ™ will comprise two separate consumables, one for blood grouping and one for serological disease screening, and initially a high-throughput instrument.

QTNT expects to install the manufacturing system for the consumables and begin formal validation studies of the system by the end of 2014.

Prototype units of the initial MosaiQ™ instrument are also forecasted to be available at this time.

QTNT plans to commence formal field trials for the consumables and the initial MosaiQ™ instrument in the second half of 2015 and expects to file the necessary regulatory submissions to obtain U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other required marketing clearances in the first half of 2016.

QTNT anticipates initial commercial sales of MosaiQ™ consumables, for research use only, in the first half of 2016.

If approved for sale, QTNT anticipates full commercial launch for MosaiQ™ in Europe during the second half of 2016 and in the United States during the first half of 2017.

Dividend Policy

No dividends are planned.

Intellectual Property

QTNT has an issued U.S. patent related to blood typing that expires in September 2027.

This patent provides methods of detecting the presence of red blood cells coated (or sensitized) with host antibody and/or components of the complement system. QTNT received counterpart patents for this U.S. patent in Europe, Australia and Japan, which also expire in September 2027, and filed a counterpart patent application in Canada in September 2007, which is currently pending.

QTNT has recently filed two new UK patent applications.

The first application, filed January 2014, concerns a novel method for cross matching blood using MosaiQ™.

In contrast to prior methods, QTNT's novel cross matching techniques involve fewer steps and QTNT believes these are more efficient.

The second application, filed February 2014, provides a new method for detecting red blood cells, also using MosaiQ™.

The technology finds particular application in immunological assays where it can be used as the basis of positive controls to confirm the addition of red blood cells.

Competition

QTNT currently competes with established diagnostic companies that design, manufacture and market instruments and consumables for blood grouping.

QTNT believes its principal competitors in the transfusion diagnostics market are Ortho, Immucor and Bio-Rad.

5% stockholders

QBDG 42.3%

Galen Partners 52.5%

Paul Cowan 42.6%

Zubeen Shroff 52.5%

John Wilkerson 52.5%

Use of proceeds

QTNT expects to net $67 million from its IPO. Proceeds are allocated as follows:

To invest

(i) $26 million on the conversion of its recently leased MosaiQ™ manufacturing facility in Eysins, Switzerland and the installation of the initial manufacturing system for consumables and

(ii) approximately $28 million on the development of the initial MosaiQ™ consumables and instrument.

QTNT intends to use the balance of the net proceeds of this offering for general corporate purposes.

Based on its current cost estimates, QTNT believes the net proceeds of this offering will be sufficient to complete the conversion of the Eysins facility and the development of the initial MosaiQ™ consumables and instrument.

The remaining net proceeds, together with QTNT's existing capital resources, will be sufficient to fund its remaining expected development costs for MosaiQ™ through the completion of formal field trials.

Disclaimer: This QTNT IPO report is based on a reading and analysis of QTNT's S-1 filing, which can be found here, and a separate, independent analysis by IPOdesktop.com. There are no unattributed direct quotes in this article.

Source: http://seekingalpha.com/article/2142663-ipo-preview-quotient