(By Balaseshan) Anthera Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ANTH) said it has priced an underwritten public offering of 33 million common shares at $1.00 apiece, a 24.8% discount to previous closing price.
The company estimates that the gross proceeds from the offering, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other estimated offering expenses payable by Anthera, to be $33 million.
The offering is expected to close on or about July 24, 2012, subject to customary closing conditions. In addition, Anthera has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 4.95 million shares of common stock to cover over-allotments, if any.
The company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, which include but are not limited to general and administrative expenses, capital expenditures, working capital, prosecution and maintenance of its intellectual property and the potential investment in technologies or products that complement its business.
The company might also use a portion of the net proceeds to pay off outstanding indebtedness, if any, and/or acquire or invest in complementary businesses, products and technologies.
Pending the use of the net proceeds, Anthera intends to invest the proceeds in short-term, interest-bearing, investment-grade securities.
The number of shares of common stock to be outstanding immediately after this offering is based on 41.07 million shares outstanding on March 31, 2012.
Piper Jaffray & Co. and Leerink Swann LLC are acting as joint book-running managers in the offering. Canaccord Genuity is acting as lead manager in the offering. Summer Street Research Partners is acting as co-manager in the offering.
ANTH is trading 17.33% lower at $1.10 on Thursday. The stock has been trading between $0.60 and $8.42 for the past 52 weeks.