Financings In Brief
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
WorldHeart seeks to raise $30 million in stock sale: Cash-strapped maker of implantable ventricular assist devices plans to raise at least $30 million through the sale of 300 million shares of common stock by July 31 to fund continued operations, the firm says. Announced June 23, WorldHeart's planned stock sale will include investments of $10 million from venture capital firm Venrock, $9 million from private equity fund Special Situations, and other investments for which discussions are ongoing. The move is part of a broader recapitalization effort by WorldHeart that includes a $1 million bridge loan from Venrock and Special Situations, and conversion of a previous $5 million loan from Abiomed into 86 million shares of WorldHeart stock (1"The Gray Sheet" Dec. 17, 2007, p. 12). The Oakland, Calif., firm announced last month that it had only $500,000 in cash on hand and faced the possibility of bankruptcy without additional funding. In the first quarter, WorldHeart lost $11.5 million on sales of $635,996
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People In Brief
Device lobby hire: Elizabeth Pika moves from her post as legislative director for Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., to become VP-government affairs at AdvaMed. Pika, replacing Seth Radus who left in May to join AdvaMed member firm Siemens, will play a particularly active role in advocating for the reform of how Medicare reimburses for molecular diagnostics in the model of the pending "Medicare Advanced Laboratory Diagnostics Act" (1"The Gray Sheet" Dec. 10, 2007, p. 13). Pika will report to Brett Loper, who joined AdvaMed in May to work with David Nexon in running the association's lobbying efforts (2"The Gray Sheet" May 5, 2008, p. 6)
People In Brief
Device lobby hire: Elizabeth Pika moves from her post as legislative director for Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., to become VP-government affairs at AdvaMed. Pika, replacing Seth Radus who left in May to join AdvaMed member firm Siemens, will play a particularly active role in advocating for the reform of how Medicare reimburses for molecular diagnostics in the model of the pending "Medicare Advanced Laboratory Diagnostics Act" (1"The Gray Sheet" Dec. 10, 2007, p. 13). Pika will report to Brett Loper, who joined AdvaMed in May to work with David Nexon in running the association's lobbying efforts (2"The Gray Sheet" May 5, 2008, p. 6)
Financings In Brief
Boston Scientific raises $140 million for debt repayment: Defibrillator and coronary stent maker will sell the bulk of its private investment portfolio to two investor groups for a total of $140 million in pre-tax proceeds, the company announces June 19. The sale is the latest in a series of divestitures of "non-strategic" assets by Boston Scientific over the last year aimed at helping to pay down debt left over from its April 2006 acquisition of Guidant; Boston Scientific had $7.3 billion in long-term debt as of March 31 (1"The Gray Sheet" April 7, 2008, p. 20). Investment firm Saints Capital will pay $100 million for interests owned by Boston Scientific in 54 companies, while private equity firm Paul Capital Partners will acquire a portfolio of venture funds and companies from Boston Scientific for $40 million. The two deals include "the vast majority" of Boston Scientific's private investment portfolio, states CFO Sam Leno