Private Equity Deals & Transactions

Gilde Healthcare lists biopharma company

Ascendis Pharma gained $0.83 in its first day of trading after selling 6m shares at $18 per share

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Gilde Healthcare, the Netherlands-based private equity firm dedicated to the healthcare sector, has listed its portfolio company Ascendis Pharma, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, on the NASDAQ, according to a statement from the firm.

The company gained $0.83 to $18.83 in its first day of trading after raising $108 million in an IPO through the sale of six million shares at $18 per share. The IPO valued Ascendis at $412.8 million, according to the firm.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Leerink Partners and Wells Fargo were joint bookrunners on the deal.

Ascendis was founded in 2007 by entrepreneur Jan Mikkelsen. Paris-based venture capital firm Sofinnova Partners and Gilde Healthcare co-led a €17.6 million Series A fundraising round for the company in early 2008.

The company focuses on creating drug candidates that are improved versions of existing drugs, with the aim of yielding more effective, lower-risk drugs with new patent life. These include a once-weekly therapy for growth hormone deficiency.

The exit – Gilde Healthcare’s ninth in the past 12 months, according to the firm – comes just a week after the firm announced it had held a first and final close on its second healthcare services fund on €100 million.

The lower mid-market Gilde Healthcare Services II will support the growth of healthcare service companies in Benelux and Germany, PEI reported previously. The vehicle’s predecessor closed on €53 million in 2010.

Gilde Healthcare has five funds overall: Gilde Healthcare Services funds I and II, which focus on healthcare service providers, including specialist clinics, elderly care and medical product suppliers in Benelux and Germany; and Gilde Healthcare I, II and III, which target companies developing medicines, medical devices and home and digital health solutions in Europe and the US.

Gilde Healthcare III closed on its €145 million target in November 2013, having held a first close on just under €100 million in the beginning of 2012, PEI reported previously. Portfolio company Sapiens Steering Brain Stimulation was acquired by Medtronic in August 2014 for $200 million in cash.