ARDANA shares bounced back yesterday after the Edinburgh-based biotech firm said raising the "for sale" sign had prompted a high level of interest.
The firm, which focuses on treatments related to human reproductive health, said last month it was seeking a sale or merger with a company using the cash to develop its portfolio.
The announcement came at a time when investor appetite for risky
, early-stage biotech investments was at its lowest in decades, prompting shares to fall.
But yesterday the group, led by chief executive Huw Jones, said interest had already led to "a number" of approaches which could lead to a bid. "Given the level of interest to date, the board sees no reason for the significant fall in share price," Ardana told investors.
Shares immediately responded, closing up 9p, almost doubling their value, at 18.5p.
Finance director Graham Lee said "a significant number" of parties had expressed an interest in buying the whole company, while others had approached Ardana about acquiring certain parts of the portfolio.
While he conceded that sentiment in the sector was low, making raising cash extremely difficult, a shortage of new products being developed made the market for deals buoyant in comparison.
"I think there's still quite a lot of appetite to do deals, because all of the larger companies are needing products," he added.
Potential suitors ranged from large pharmaceutical companies through to small cash-rich biotechs, Lee said.
A major licensing deal for part of the company's portfolio could see it maintained as a going concern, but Lee suggested this was unlikely.
"We obviously consider that the best option is to merge or be sold. That's the process we're going through now, but we have had quite a lot of interest for our products … and if somebody comes in with a really slam dunk opportunity then obviously we have to consider it."
The full article contains 320 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
