arGEN-X’s IPO raised €40 million (excluding greenshoe option). arGEN-X N.V. shares will be listed on Euronext Brussels from 10 July, under the ticker symbol ARGX.
arGEN-X N.V. is a Dutch biopharmaceuticals company that was set up in 2008 and specialises in identifying and developing differentiated human antibodies for the treatment of cancer and auto-immune diseases. Omnes Capital has been one of the company’s main shareholders since 2009, and has invested €46 million in various rounds of funding.
At the IPO price, arGEN-X is valued at over €140 million (calculated on a fully diluted basis and excluding the green shoe option). Leading European and American investors took part in the offering. Pharmaceuticals company Shire, with which arGEN-X has a strategic alliance, invested €12 million in the IPO.
The success of the IPO shows the quality of arGEN-X’s management team, platform and assets. The funds raised will enable the company to continue its development of its drug candidates ARGX-110, ARGX-111 and ARGX-113, which aim to treat certain orphan diseases in the cancer and auto-immune fields. The aim is to obtain clinical results that confirm the value of these programmes and allow collaborations to be formed. arGEN-X will also strengthen its proprietary SIMPLE Antibody™ platform and all of the complementary technologies from which its differentiated therapeutic antibodies originated.
Bruno Montanari, Omnes Capital’s representative on the company’s Supervisory Board, said: “Alongside other high-quality investors, we are proud to have supported arGEN-X’s team, headed by CEO Tim van Hauwermeiren, since its first funding round. This IPO rewards the collective efforts that have made this young, innovative company into one of the leading players in its market.”
The arGEN-X flotation is the Venture Capital team’s third IPO since the start of the year. With €421 million of assets under management, the Venture Capital team has handled over
50 successful exits and seven IPOs.
About arGEN-X
arGEN-X is a Dutch company founded in 2008. It develops and produces differentiated antibodies for treating cancer and auto-immune diseases, using various technologies (SIMPLE Antibody™, NHance™, ABDEG™, POTELLIGENT™) that yield functionally diverse antibodies with enhanced biological characteristics. The company has numerous partnerships with pharmaceutical companies (Bayer, BoehringerIngelheim, Eli Lilly, RuiYi and Shire) and academic institutions (Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Université Catholique de Louvain), and has built a pipeline of drug candidates, some of which are currently in clinical trials. www.argen-x.com
About Omnes Capital (formerly Crédit Agricole Private Equity)
Omnes Capital is a major player in private equity, with a commitment to financing SMEs.
With €2.1 billion in assets under management, Omnes capital provides companies with the capital needed to finance their growth and with key expertise in a number of areas: Mid and Small Cap Buyout & Growth Capital, Venture Capital in technology and life sciences, Renewable Energy, Mezzanine, Secondary Funds of Funds, Co-Investment. Omnes Capital, formerly Crédit Agricole Private Equity, was a subsidiary of Crédit Agricole until March 2012 when the company gained its independence. Omnes Capital is a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). www-rec.omnescapital.com
Press contacts
Martine Sessin-Caracci – martine.sessincaracci@www-rec.omnescapital.com – +33 1 80 48 79 15
Caroline Babouillard (Shan) – caroline.babouillard@shan.fr – +33 1 44 50 58 72