Global Blood pumps life into IPO market

摘要

Global blood therapeutics capped an impressive run for biotechnology new issues with a US$120m float in an otherwise difficult IPO market of late. Newly minted shares of the orphan drug specialist more than doubled on debut on Wednesday, buoyed by follow-through buying by blue-chip institutions that participated in a recent pre-IPO private funding. "The fear in a challenged IPO market is that the person phoning in the order is not necessarily the ultimate decision maker," said a syndicate source. "GBT received exceptionally strong follow-through from crossover investors both at pricing and in the aftermarket." Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs were multiple times oversubscribed on the sale of 6m shares, allowing for pricing at US$20, above the US$16-$18 target. The banks concentrated the bookbuild among top 10 accounts, including the crossover investors.