ProQR Announces Closing of Underwritten Public Offering and Concurrent Private Placement

Rhea-AI Summary

ProQR Therapeutics announced the closing of its underwritten public offering of 18,000,000 ordinary shares at $3.50 per share, raising gross proceeds of $63.0 million. Additionally, the company completed a concurrent private placement with Eli Lilly and Company for 3,523,538 ordinary shares at the same price, generating approximately $12.3 million in gross proceeds. The combined offerings total $75.3 million in gross proceeds. Evercore ISI, Cantor, Raymond James and Oppenheimer & Co. served as joint lead bookrunning managers for the public offering.

Positive

• Secured significant funding of $75.3 million through combined offerings
• Strategic investment from Eli Lilly through private placement
• Successful completion of both public offering and private placement

Negative

• Significant shareholder dilution due to issuance of 21,523,538 new shares
• Offering price of $3.50 may represent a discount to market price

Insights

Financial Analyst

This equity financing significantly strengthens ProQR's balance sheet, raising a combined $75.3 million through public offering and private placement. The public offering of 18 million shares at $3.50 per share generated $63 million, while Eli Lilly's private placement added another $12.3 million. The strategic investment by Eli Lilly is particularly noteworthy, as it demonstrates confidence from a major pharmaceutical company in ProQR's Axiomer™ RNA editing technology platform.

The successful completion of this financing provides important capital for advancing ProQR's RNA therapeutics pipeline. The company's ability to attract both public market investors and strategic partners suggests strong market confidence in their technology platform. However, the share issuance will result in dilution for existing shareholders, though this is offset by the potential for accelerated development of their therapeutic programs.

LEIDEN, the Netherlands and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ProQR Therapeutics N.V. (Nasdaq: PRQR) (“ProQR”), a company dedicated to changing lives through transformative RNA therapies based on its proprietary Axiomer™ RNA editing technology platform, today announced the closing of its previously announced underwritten public offering of 18,000,000 ordinary shares (the “Offering”) at a public offering price of $3.50 per share, for total gross proceeds of $63.0 million, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses payable by ProQR. All of the shares in the Offering were sold by ProQR.

In addition, ProQR today announced the closing of its previously announced concurrent private placement of 3,523,538 ordinary shares to Eli Lilly and Company, in a separately negotiated transaction, at a price per share equal to the public offering price (the “Private Placement”). The total gross proceeds of the Private Placement were approximately $12.3 million. The ordinary shares sold in the Private Placement were not subject to any underwriting discounts or commissions.

Evercore ISI, Cantor, Raymond James and Oppenheimer & Co. acted as joint lead bookrunning managers for the Offering.

A shelf registration statement on Form F-3 relating to the Offering (including the accompanying prospectus) was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on September 30, 2024 and was declared effective on October 10, 2024. The Offering was made only by means of a prospectus and prospectus supplement that form a part of the registration statement. A final prospectus supplement relating to and describing the terms of the Offering has been filed with the SEC and may be obtained for free by visiting the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Copies of the final prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to the Offering may be obtained from: Evercore Group L.L.C., Attention: Equity Capital Markets, 55 East 52nd Street, 35th Floor, New York, New York 10055, by telephone at (888) 474-0200 or by email at ecm.prospectus@evercore.com; or Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., Attention: Capital Markets, 110 East 59th Street, 6th Floor, New York, New York 10022 or by email at prospectus@cantor.com. You may also obtain these documents free of charge by visiting the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

The ordinary shares sold in the Private Placement have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), or any state or other applicable jurisdiction’s securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable state or other jurisdictions’ securities laws.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, 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 any such state or jurisdiction.

About ProQR

ProQR Therapeutics is dedicated to changing lives through the creation of transformative RNA therapies. ProQR is pioneering a next-generation RNA technology called Axiomer™, which uses a cell’s own editing machinery called ADAR to make specific single nucleotide edits in RNA to reverse a mutation or modulate protein expression and could potentially yield a new class of medicines for both rare and prevalent diseases with unmet need. Based on its unique proprietary RNA repair platform technologies ProQR is growing its pipeline with patients and loved ones in mind.

ProQR Therapeutics N.V.

Investor Contact:
Sarah Kiely
ProQR Therapeutics N.V.
T: +1 617 599 6228
skiely@proqr.com
or

Peter Kelleher
LifeSci Advisors
T: +1 617 430 7579
pkelleher@lifesciadvisors.com

Media Contact:
Robert Stanislaro
FTI Consulting
T: +1 212 850 5657
robert.stanislaro@fticonsulting.com

FAQ

How much did ProQR (PRQR) raise in its October 2024 public offering?

ProQR raised $63.0 million in gross proceeds through its public offering of 18,000,000 ordinary shares at $3.50 per share.

What was the size of Eli Lilly's private placement investment in ProQR (PRQR)?

Eli Lilly invested approximately $12.3 million through a private placement of 3,523,538 ordinary shares at $3.50 per share.

What was the total amount raised by ProQR (PRQR) in both offerings combined?

ProQR raised a total of $75.3 million in gross proceeds through the combined public offering and private placement.

Who were the bookrunning managers for ProQR's (PRQR) public offering?

Evercore ISI, Cantor, Raymond James and Oppenheimer & Co. acted as joint lead bookrunning managers for the offering.