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ImmunityBio, a late-stage immunotherapy company majority owned by South African-born billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong, has announced the execution of a $50-million equity financing to provide additional working capital and support its continuing business operations.
According to a press release issued by the company, ImmunityBio disclosed that it has signed a securities purchase agreement with various institutional investors, and this move will see the company issue common stock and warrants to strengthen its operations as it continues to produce cell and immunotherapy products with the aim of fortifying patients’ immune systems.
The company has announced that its additional shares will be purchased by investors, yielding an estimated $50 million in gross proceeds at closing, excluding any offering-related expenses and subject to customary closing conditions.
Furthermore, should the warrant be fully exercised, the late-stage immunotherapy company, which is majority owned by Soon-Shiong, may obtain additional gross proceeds of up to $60 million.
The news of the $50-million equity financing caused the company’s shares on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange to decline by 4.09 percent during trading hours, bringing its market capitalization further below the $1.2-billion threshold.
Due to a significant drop of 4.09 percent in today’s trading, ImmunityBio has experienced a year-to-date loss of 43.5 percent, causing further damage to the investments of its shareholders, particularly Soon-Shiong, who owns a 76-percent stake in the company.
As a result of this downturn, Soon-Shiong’s net worth has decreased by $335 million since the start of the year, bringing his current worth to $8.6 billion.
Despite this setback, Soon-Shiong remains one of the wealthiest individuals in the world, currently ranking as the 244th richest person on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, placing him behind Anthony Pratt, the chairman of Visy, a Melbourne-based packaging and recycling company.
