atai Life Sciences Announces Closing of Public Offering and Full Exercise of Option to Purchase Additional Common Shares

Rhea-AI Summary

atai Life Sciences (NASDAQ: ATAI) has successfully completed its public offering of 26,190,477 common shares on February 14, 2025, followed by the underwriter's full exercise of its option to purchase an additional 3,928,571 shares at $2.10 per share on February 17, 2025. The total gross proceeds amounted to approximately $63.25 million.

The company plans to use the net proceeds for general corporate purposes, including working capital and advancing clinical development of its product candidates. Based on the planned use of proceeds and current operating plan, atai projects that its existing cash, short-term securities, public equity holdings, and committed term loan facility will fund operations into 2027. Berenberg acted as the sole bookrunner for the offering.

Positive

• Raised $63.25 million in gross proceeds through public offering
• Full exercise of underwriter's option indicates strong demand
• Extended cash runway into 2027

Negative

• Share dilution due to issuance of 30,119,048 new common shares
• Offering price of $2.10 per share represents a significant discount to previous trading levels

Insights

Financial Analyst

The successful completion of ATAI's $63.25 million public offering, including full exercise of the overallotment option, represents a important strategic move in the challenging biotech funding landscape. The offering's pricing at $2.10 per share demonstrates institutional confidence in ATAI's mental health treatment pipeline, particularly noteworthy given current market volatility.

The extension of operational runway into 2027 is particularly significant for several reasons:

• It provides approximately two years of additional cash cushion, important for a clinical-stage biotech company with multiple programs in development
• The extended timeline allows ATAI to potentially reach multiple clinical milestones without immediate funding pressure
• The timing aligns with the typical duration needed to advance early-stage compounds through critical development phases

The full exercise of the underwriter's option to purchase additional shares signals strong institutional interest, though the offering's size represents significant dilution of approximately 15% to existing shareholders. However, this dilution is offset by the strategic advantage of securing a lengthy operational runway in an environment where biotech funding has become increasingly selective.

The selection of Berenberg as sole bookrunner, rather than a syndicate of banks, suggests a focused approach to institutional placement, potentially indicating confidence in the offering's attractiveness to their core investor base. The successful completion under a single bookrunner structure often results in more stable post-offering trading patterns due to concentrated placement with long-term focused institutions.

NEW YORK and BERLIN, Feb. 20, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- atai Life Sciences (NASDAQ: ATAI) (“atai” or “Company”), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on transforming the treatment of mental health disorders, today announced that, on February 14, 2025, the closing of its public offering of 26,190,477 common shares occurred. Additionally, on February 17, 2025, the underwriter exercised its option in full to purchase an additional 3,928,571 common shares at the public offering price of $2.10 per share, and the closing of the underwriter’s option to purchase 3,928,571 additional common shares occurred on February 19, 2025. The aggregate gross proceeds from the offering, including the gross proceeds from the exercise of the underwriter’s option to purchase additional shares, were approximately $63.25 million, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses payable by atai.

atai intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, including for working capital and to advance the clinical development of its product candidates and programs. Based on this planned use of proceeds and atai’s current operating plan, atai estimates that its existing cash, short-term securities, public equity holdings and committed term loan facility will be sufficient to fund operations into 2027.

Berenberg acted as the sole bookrunner for the offering.

The securities in the underwritten offering described above were offered pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement that was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on July 1, 2022 and declared effective by the SEC on July 11, 2022. This offering was made only by means of a prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus which formed a part of the effective shelf registration statement. The final prospectus supplement related to the offering was filed with the SEC on February 13, 2025 and is available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Copies of the final prospectus may be obtained by contacting: Berenberg Capital Markets LLC, Attention: Investment Banking, 1251 Avenue of the Americas, 53rd Floor, New York, New York 10020, or by telephone at +1 (646) 949-9000, or by e-mail at prospectusrequests@berenberg-us.com.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such state or jurisdiction.

About atai Life Sciences
atai is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company aiming to transform the treatment of mental health disorders. The Company was founded in response to the significant unmet need and lack of innovation in the mental health treatment landscape. atai is dedicated to developing novel, evidence-based therapeutics to treat depression, anxiety and other mental health disorders. atai's vision is to heal mental health disorders so that everyone, everywhere can live a more fulfilled life.

Forward-looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 as contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the use of proceeds from the offering, the sufficiency of the proceeds from the offering and the Company’s cash, short-term securities, public equity holdings and committed term loan facility to fund operations and the timing thereof and other statements relating to the offering. There are numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and atai’s plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information, such as those risks discussed in the section entitled “Risk Factors” set forth in atai’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, in each case, as filed with the SEC, and future reports to be filed with the SEC. These documents contain and identify important factors that could cause the actual results for atai to differ materially from those contained in atai’s forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof, and atai specifically disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required by law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing atai’s views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.

Contact Information
Investor Contact:
IR@atai.life

Media Contact:
PR@atai.life

FAQ

How much did ATAI raise in its February 2025 public offering?

ATAI raised approximately $63.25 million in gross proceeds through the public offering and full exercise of the underwriter's option.

How many shares did ATAI issue in its February 2025 offering?

ATAI issued a total of 30,119,048 common shares, consisting of 26,190,477 initial shares and 3,928,571 additional shares through the underwriter's option.

What was the price per share for ATAI's February 2025 offering?

The public offering price was $2.10 per share.

How long will ATAI's cash runway extend following the February 2025 offering?

ATAI estimates its cash runway will extend into 2027 based on current operating plans and the offering proceeds.

What will ATAI use the proceeds from the February 2025 offering for?

ATAI intends to use the proceeds for general corporate purposes, including working capital and advancing clinical development of its product candidates.