BioWorld International Correspondent

PARIS - Cellectis SA launched an initial public offering on the Alternext market of the Paris Euronext stock exchange with an offer of up to 2.38 million shares, as announced at the beginning of January. (See BioWorld International, Jan. 3, 2007.)

It consists of an initial offering of 1.8 million shares, plus a 15 percent extension of 270,000 shares. In addition, the underwriters will be offered an overallotment option of 15 percent of that total, or 310,000 shares.

The operation comprises a public offering in France and a private placement with institutional investors in various countries, not including the United States, while €2.4 million worth of shares are reserved for financial investors and management and staff.

The indicative price range is €8.90 to €10.25 per share, which means that the IPO should result in a capital increase for Cellectis of at least €16 million and could generate net proceeds of as much as €21.2 million (US$24.7 million).

The offering opened Jan. 23 and will close Feb. 5 (retail offering) and Feb. 6 (institutional offering). The final price will be announced on Feb. 6 and delivery and payment are scheduled for Feb. 9. The sole bookrunner and listing sponsor is SG Corp. & Investment Banking, an arm of the Paris-based bank Société Générale.

Following the IPO, the shares in free float are expected to represent 22 percent of the company's equity, while founders, employees and directors will hold 19 percent (as against 25 percent at present).

The balance will be distributed as follows: BankInvest Medical Venture, of Copenhagen, Denmark, 17 percent (down from 21 percent now); KamInvest Holding, of Lyon, France, 12 percent (16 percent); AGF Private Equity, of Paris, 12 percent (15 percent); LCF Rothschild, of Paris, 6 percent (8 percent); Odyssée Venture, of Paris, 6 percent (8 percent); and the Institut Pasteur, of Paris, which is the source of Cellectis' technology and where it was incubated, 6 percent (7 percent).

The company's last funding round dates back to the second quarter of 2002, when it raised €13.6 million in a series B financing from the same five venture capital funds. KamInvest provided the company with its seed funding of €3.9 million in April 2001.

Based at the Biocitech science and technology park in the Paris suburb of Romainville, Cellectis is a genome engineering company that is developing meganuclease recombination systems (MRSs) for targeting specific genes in various living organisms. Those MRSs are designed to modify genes in vivo through the cell's natural maintenance and repair system without damaging the rest of the genome.

The company plans to use the funds raised through the IPO to increase its production capacity from eight MRSs a year at present to 20 a year by 2008, which will entail procuring additional equipment and recruiting more staff. It also plans to step up research and development in meganuclease engineering and in its MRS production process and to strengthen its sales and marketing department. The company currently employs 40 people.