Days before its planned IPO, Peloton Therapeutics Inc was acquired by pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co Inc (NYSE:MRK) in a deal worth as much as $2.2 billion.
The sale provides Peloton shareholders with $1.05 billion in cash, with a possible $1.15 more if its treatments hit certain milestones.
Investors had been watching the Dallas-based company, which planned to issue 9.4 million shares Thursday between $15 and $17 to raise $150 million.
READ: IPO Roundup: Peloton Therapeutics, Rattler Midstream headline the week's slate of public offerings
Peloton developed a treatment for Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma, a type of kidney cancer, that targets the transcription factor HIF2a. Its PT2977 drug is currently part of a Phase 2 trial for Von Hippel-Lindau disease, a malady that causes growth of tumors and cysts. It hopes to gain orphan drug designation.
“Merck is recognized as a leader in cancer research and shares our commitment to accelerating the development of candidates targeting HIF-2α to help patients with advanced cancers and other diseases,” CEO John Josey said. “We are proud to have advanced PT2977 to this stage of development and believe that Merck is well suited to build upon the progress our company has made."
Pricing Wednesday
Rattler Midstream (NASDAQ:RTLR) will price 33.3 million shares Wednesday night between $16 and $19 to raise as much as $583 million. A subsidiary of Diamondback Energy Inc (NASDAQ:FANG), Midland, Texas-based Rattler provides its parent company with midstream oil services including fresh water sourcing and transportation and saltwater gathering and disposal in the Permian basin.
Bicycle Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BCYC) plans raise up to $68 million by issuing 4.3 million shares at a target price between $14 and $16. Insiders are expected to purchase 38% of shares of the UK company for $25 million. The clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company is developing cancer treatments using bicyclic peptides, which have a molecular structure that resembles a pair of wheels.
IDEAYA Biosciences (NASDAQ:IDYA) is pricing 5 million shares Wednesday night with an expected price between $13 and $15 to raise $70 million at the top of the range. The San Francisco-based company is focused on developing molecular diagnostic tools and targeted oncological treatments. It obtained a license from Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) for IDE196, a protein inhibitor for genetically-defined cancers in patients with a specific gene mutation.
Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.com
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