 |
| LDR will put some of its IPO haul toward a U.S. launch of the Mobi-C spinal implant.--Courtesy of LDR |
Austin, Texas' LDR is ready for its Wall Street debut, pricing a $75 million IPO and hoping to ride the boom of investor confidence that has helped 38 drug and diagnostics companies go public this year.
The final pricing came in above the $69 million LDR sought in its initial August filing, now offering 5 million shares at $15 apiece. The company's underwriters have the option of snapping up another 3.8 million shares. When the opening bell rings this morning, the company will list on the Nasdaq under "LDRH."
Once its offering is over with, LDR plans to put up to $6 million of its haul toward a U.S. launch for the recently FDA-approved Mobi-C cervical disc, the company said, then spend as much as $15 million on marketing and use $6.5 million to fund R&D. The rest will go toward debt and general corporate purposes, according to LDR's S-1.
In the first half of 2013, LDR brought in $52.4 million in revenue, about 16% above the same period in 2004, but an increase in operating expenses deepened the company's net loss by 14% to $4.8 million. LDR said it expects to keep racking up losses "in the near term," but the company is working to make Mobi-C the standard of care for cervical disc replacement, leveraging its FDA approval to expand sales around the world. To date, LDR has shipped 17,000 Mobi-C implants.
LDR will be the first pure-play medical device company to make its market debut in a year packed with biotech and diagnostic firms snatching big valuations on the Street, and the course of the day could shed light on whether makers of discs, pumps and pacemakers can count on the same investor faith that has put $2.8 billion into the pockets of drug and test developers this year.
Tandem Diabetes Care, an insulin pump manufacturer, became the second device outfit to plot an IPO this week, setting the table for a $100 million offering.
- read LDR's amended S-1
Special Report: Foundation Medicine, Ophthotech go gangbusters in 2013 biotech IPO revival
Editor's note: An earlier version of this story miscounted the underwriters' option to purchase additional shares. They have the option to purchase an additional 3.8 million shares, not shares worth $3.8 million.