By Lisa Seachrist
Washington Editor
Sunnyvale, Calif.-based LJL BioSystems Inc. raised $19 million in a private placement of unregistered shares of common stock.
The company sold 1.76 million shares of common stock to new and current investors at a price of $11 per share. Because the shares have yet to be registered with the SEC and cant be traded until they are, the company offered the shares at a substantial discount to Thursdays market close of $18.75 a share for LJL stock (NASDAQ:LJLB), down $1.25.
Were real pleased with this financing, said Larry Tannenbaum, chief financial officer for LJL. It helps to strengthen our balance sheet and our cash position. Weve sort of topped off the fuel tank.
Tannenbaum said the shares will be registered with the SEC over the next few months. The proceeds from the financing will go to general corporate purposes and working capital.
In September, LJL announced it was extending its high-throughput screening capabilities to include genotyping of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Tannenbaum said some of the funds will be used to further that effort.
We believe weve shown good progress on SNP genotyping, Tannenbaum said. We think there is an opportunity there that is untapped.
When the new shares are registered with the SEC, the company will have approximately 14.5 million shares of common stock and roughly $26 million cash on hand.