Increasingly optimistic about its bright future in the emerging sequencing market, Pacific Biosciences has outlined plans to boost its IPO haul to as much as $230 million. PacBio has already garnered a whopping $370 million in venture funds from some high-profile backers, including Kleiner Perkins.
Now Pacific BioSciences--a 2009 Fierce 15 company--will set out to shop 12.5 million shares at $15 to $17 a share. Net proceeds could hit $182 million at $16 a share, with up to $70 million of that earmarked for new work on its single molecule, real-time, SMRT technology platform. PacBio had originally filed documents for a $200 million IPO in August. JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank and Piper Jaffray are underwriting the offering. The sequencing outfit plans to list itself as PACB on Nasdaq.
PacBio will be selling the revolutionary dream that radically more efficient DNA sequencing in the lab can prove a game-changer in clinical trial work as well as in other industries. But it's going up against a market that has valued revenue more than potential when it comes to biotech players. If PacBio can pull this off, and it just might, it may signal a slightly warmer climate for future biotech IPOs.
- here's the story from Reuters