(Reuters) – Late-stage clinical biopharma company Acelyrin Inc said on Monday that it was seeking a valuation of up to $1.5 billion in its initial public offering in the United States that comes at a time when new listings are testing investors’ appetite.
The Los Angeles-based company is aiming to raise up to roughly $370 million, by selling 20.6 million shares at nearly the top-end of its proposed price range of $16 to $18 per share, the company said in a filing.
There are signs that the IPO market is beginning to thaw. Johnson & Johnson Inc is preparing to list its consumer health business Kenvue Inc in New York this Friday, hoping to raise about $3.5 billion.
Last week, SoftBank’s ARM Ltd filed with regulators confidentially for a U.S. stock market listing, setting stage for largest IPO offering of the year.
U.S. IPOs, excluding listings for special purpose acquisition companies, is down about 22% to a total of just $2.35 billion year-to-date, according to Dealogic, as the volatility in stock market and economic uncertainty had put many IPO hopefuls off.
Following the completion of offering, Acelyrin will be listed on the Nasdaq with its shares trading under the ticker symbol “SLRN”.
Morgan Stanley, Jefferies, TD Cowen and Piper Sandler are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering.
(Reporting by Jaiveer Singh Shekhawat in Bengaluru; Editing by Shweta Agarwal)
