Six Israeli biomed companies are about to go public on Nasdaq, and are now conducting meetings with investors. "Globes" reported yesterday that as of now, these companies are not seeing any attention being paid directly to the security events in Israel, and that no meeting with investors had been canceled. It appears, however, that the seriousness of the situation is being gradually realized in the US.
Managers and parties involved with the IPOs with whom "Globes" spoke yesterday reported today that the situation had changed following the cancelation of flights to and from Israel announced yesterday by foreign airlines. It appears that this declaration has overcome US inhibitions, and the investors are already asking questions and taking an interest in the possibility of a postponement until the situation is clarified.
"They're asking, 'How will the situation affect your company,' and you have to decide how to address it," a manager told "Globes." "In contrast to the missiles being intercepted in the sky without ever reaching the ground, the halt in flights can also affect a company with no operations in Israel other than an office. It also highlights to potential investors that this round of fighting is different than the previous ones, and that the concept of 'It passes, Israelis always recover, and things go back to the way they were before within a short time' is now considered questionable."
The companies scheduled to hold Nasdaq IPOs soon are Mapi-Pharma (improved generic drugs), Silenseed (a drug for pancreatic cancer), Macro Cure (wound healing), VBL Therapeutics (drugs for cancer and infectious diseases), ReWalk Robotics (a walking device for paralytics), and BioBlast Pharma (drugs for rare diseases). The companies intend to raise an aggregate $319 million. Even before the outbreak of war in the Gaza Strip, it was not certain whether the companies would succeed in completing their offerings at the planned values.
At the same time, it is possible that the situation in the US and the general appetite for biomed offerings will have a greater effect on the IPOs' success than the situation in Israel. The Nasdaq biotech index has been rising in recent days, with a 3% return since the beginning of the week.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 23, 2014
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