Covid-19 vaccine maker BioNTech launches ADS offering

German biotechnology outfit BioNTech has launched a public offering for 5.0m of American depositary shares with a rights offering set to follow at the end of the week, with US drug giant Pfizer having signalled its interest in taking part.

The company, one of the front-runners in global efforts to develop a Covid-19 vaccine using its proprietary mRNA platform, will sell 5.0m ADSs representing an identical number of ordinary shares via an underwritten offering.

Furthermore, one of the outfit's existing shareholders intends to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to buy as many as 750,000 additional ADSs.

Once the price for the underwritten offering has been set, the firm will start a rights offering among the holders of its ADSs as of 1700 Eastern Standard time on 24 July and a rights issue for ordinary shares to ordinary shareholders as of 1100 BST on 29 July.

Investors representing 74.8% of the company's ordinary shareholders had agreed not to transfer or exercise their rights at this offering and the shares underlying those rights were being offered in the underwritten offering, BioNTech said in a statement.

Pfizer had indicated its interest in purchasing as many as $200m-worth of shares in ADSs as part of the underwritten offering.

JP Morgan, Bank of America and Berenberg would act as lead joint book-running managers for the underwritten offering and intended to act as joint dealer-managers and subscription agents for the rights offering.

As of 1645 BST, shares of BioNTech were up 4.91% to $92.53, valuing the firm at approximately $20.16bn, having earlier hit an intra-day high of $97.82, while those of Pfizer were up by 0.23% to $36.59.