Inion Successfully Completes IPO to Raise Net Proceeds of GBP30 Million (EUR43 million)
Tampere, Finland, November 26 (ots/PRNewswire)
Inion, a rapidly-growing medical device company that focuses on the development and commercialisation of novel biodegradable implants for the orthopaedic fixation market, today announces that it has successfully completed its Initial Public Offering in connection with listing on the London Stock Exchange. The shares being placed in the IPO are being issued at 130 pence per share, giving the Company a market capitalisation of approximately GBP90 million (EUR129 million) immediately after the IPO.
Details of the Offering
- The offering comprises an aggregate of 25,384,615 shares, all of which are new ordinary shares being issued by Inion, corresponding to gross proceeds for the Company of approximately GBP33 million (EUR47 million) before expenses.
- The offering price of 130 pence per share is in the top half of the indicative price range announced on 9 November of 113 pence to 136 pence per share. A total of 69,438,821 shares are expected to be in issue immediately following the offering, corresponding to a market capitalisation of the Company at the offering price of approximately GBP90 million (EUR129 million).
- The IPO attracted a good geographic spread of investor interest from a number of European countries and was more than 6 times covered at the offering price.
- It is expected that the Company's ordinary shares will be admitted to the Official List of the UK Listing Authority and that trading will commence on the London Stock Exchange's market for listed securities on 1 December 2004 under the ticker symbol IIN.L.
- In connection with the offering, Nomura International has been granted an option by the Company to subscribe for up to an additional 3,807,692 new ordinary shares at the offering price to cover over-allotments, if any, and to cover short positions arising from stabilisation transactions. This over-allotment option will be exercisable for a period of 30 days after the admission of the ordinary shares to the Official List of the UK Listing Authority.
- Nomura International acted as bookrunning lead manager and sponsor for the offering and the listing. Williams de Broë Plc acted as co-lead manager.
Commenting on the announcement, Dr Auvo Kaikkonen, Chief Executive Officer of Inion, said:
"We are delighted to have successfully completed our IPO and have been very encouraged by the positive response received from the broad range of institutional investors we have met as part of our IPO marketing process. The funds raised will allow us to press ahead with the commercialisation of our existing products, as well as continuing the development of our new generation of implants that are designed to promote faster bone healing. We believe that since the foundation of the company less than five years ago we have already established a track record of rapid growth and look forward with confidence to our future as a listed company."
Further information
Inion is a Finnish medical device company that focuses on the development and commercialisation of novel biodegradable polymer implants for the orthopaedic fixation market. Inion has developed a family of proprietary polymer blends from which it selects the most appropriate material for each type of implant. These blends have been specifically designed to be biodegradable - so that they provide the required support to facilitate bone healing, but are gradually broken down, naturally and completely, by the patient's body as they are no longer required. By using a selected polymer blend for each type of implant, the directors of Inion believe that Inion's products have a number of potential advantages over existing predominantly metal implants which either need to be left in place permanently, or removed via costly follow-up surgery.
Since its incorporation in early 2000, Inion has developed and launched a number of implants in four specific treatment areas: craniomaxillofacial or CMF (face and jaw), dental surgery, sports medicine and orthopaedic trauma. Inion is also developing a number of other implants, including an additional range of products for spinal indications that is in the final stages of development, and further products within the four established treatment areas.
Strategy
Since its foundation, Inion has pursued a four part strategy designed to create value from its range of innovative orthopaedic products and technologies:
- Develop and manufacture novel polymer implants to meet more effectively the needs of surgeons, patients and healthcare providers.
- Systematically build the Group's brands by establishing a reputation for reliability, innovation and responsiveness to market demands among opinion-leading surgeons.
- Establish a high quality distribution network through strategic partnerships with leading international orthopaedic companies and well-known local agents.
- Develop and protect an extensive intellectual property portfolio through an active and targeted patenting strategy.
Current ownership
Prior to the IPO, Inion's largest shareholders are HealthCap (Swedish), BioFund (Finnish), Bank von Ernst (Swiss), CapMan/Swedestart (Finnish/Swedish ) and POD Holding (Swedish/US). Other existing shareholders include the Finnish institutional investors Pohjola, Suomi and Tapiola.
Core Technologies
Bone formation and healing are a complicated combination of biological and mechanical processes. For example, they can be enhanced by micro-movement at the site of a fracture and by an appropriate amount of stress placed on it. As a result, the ideal physical properties for an orthopaedic implant are different depending on where the implant is to be used. Inion's family of polymer blends, known as OPTIMATM, uses a group of raw materials that have been used for many years in a variety of medical applications, such as biodegradable sutures. These materials have already passed through all the relevant regulatory processes, which allows Inion to obtain product approvals in shorter times than would otherwise be the case. By simple blending of carefully selected combinations of these raw materials, together with the selection of specific manufacturing and sterilisation methods, Inion is able to produce materials with specific strength, malleability and biodegradation properties to match the requirements of particular clinical situations.
Inion has also successfully completed pre-clinical studies to show that implants made from OPTIMATM can be used to deliver certain active compounds to the site of bone formation and healing. In these studies, healing times were significantly reduced by adding small quantities of a compound called N-Methyl Pyrolidone (NMP) to the polymer blend. NMP has been used for many years as an excipient for topical and parenteral drugs and so extensive data is already available showing its safety in human use, added to which the directors of Inion believe that this research has demonstrated for the first time the potential value of NMP as a ''bioactive'' ingredient.
Existing Products
Since 2001, Inion has demonstrated the ability to commercialise its technology by launching a range of products in four key areas:
Craniomaxillofacial The Compact Plating System or CPS (first
or CMF launched in 2001). CPS consists of plates,
meshes and screws made from the OPTIMATM
polymers that are used to maintain accurate
alignment of surgical and traumatic bone
fractures in the skull and jaw.
Dental surgery The Guided Tissue Regeneration/Guided Bone
Re-growth (GTR/GBR) Membrane (first launched
in 2001). This membrane is used to prevent
soft tissue from invading the sites of injury
to the jawbone where re-growth of slower
growing bone tissue is required, for example
to allow placement of dental implants.
Sports medicine HEXALON biodegradable screws (first launched
in 2002). These screws are used in surgical
repairs to the Anterior Cruciate Ligament
(ACL) in the knee. This range was expanded in
2003 by the launch of the TRINION
biodegradable screw for repairing tears to
the meniscus cartilage within the knee.
Orthopaedic trauma The Orthopaedic Trauma Plating System or OTPS
(first launched in 2003). OTPS consists of a
system of biodegradable plates and screws for
reconstructive surgery on the foot, hand,
ankle and wrist after traumatic breakage.The implants in all key areas are complemented by proprietary instrumentation, which is used by surgeons to perform the implantation procedures.
Products in Development
Inion currently has a number of implants in development that use its existing OPTIMATM technology, including:
- a biodegradable plating system for use in spinal fusion and repair of certain fractures of the spine.
- implantable suture and tendon anchors for reconstruction of the shoulder and knee joints, which will complement the current ACL and meniscus repair products in the sports medicine range.
In addition, the group is also examining a number of potential applications of its OPTIMATM/NMP technology, known as OPTIMAPLUSTM. These include the addition of NMP to the full orthopaedic implant range, making them bio-active as well as biodegradable.
These written materials are not for distribution in the United States, Canada, Japan or Australia. The information contained herein does not constitute an offer of securities for sale in the United States, Canada, Japan or Australia. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or an exemption therefrom. Inion has not and does not intend to register any of its securities under US securities law. Accordingly, the securities may not be offered or sold in the United States unless they are registered or exempt from registration under applicable law or in transactions that are exempt from registration. The securities will not be offered or sold to the public in the United States.
This announcement has been issued by Inion and is the sole responsibility of Inion and has been approved solely for the purposes of Section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 by Nomura International plc of 1 St Martin's-le-Grand, London EC1A 4NP. Nomura International plc, which is regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Services Authority, is acting for Inion and no-one else in connection with this matter and will not be responsible to any other person for providing the protections afforded to clients of Nomura International plc or for providing advice in relation to this matter. Williams de Broë Plc, which is regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Services Authority, is acting for Inion and no-one else in connection with this matter and will not be responsible to any other person for providing the protections afforded to clients of Williams de Broë Plc or for providing advice in relation to this matter.
This announcement does not constitute or form part of an offer, or any solicitation of an offer, for securities and any purchase of or application for shares in the placing should only be made on the basis of information contained in the formal listing particulars to be issued in connection with the placing and the listing. The price and value of, and income from, shares may go down as well as up. Persons needing advice in relation to any of the matters referred to herein should consult a professional adviser.
For the purposes of illustration, an exchange rate of EUR1.43 to GBP1.00 has been used to convert sterling amounts into Euros in this press release.
Stabilisation/FSA
Contact:
Enquiries at: Inion Oy - Dr Auvo Kaikkonen, Chief Executive Officer
or Jari Kortesluoma, Chief Financial Officer, +358-3-230-6616,
Website: www.inion.com. Nomura International - Steve Adkin or Jamie
Adams, +44-(0)20-7521-2000. Williams de Broë - Miikka Haromo,
+44-(0)20-7588-7511. Citigate Dewe Rogerson - David Dible/Mark
Swallow, +44-(0)20-7638-9571