SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Burrill & Company and WR Hambrecht + Co (WRH+Co) are pleased to announce that they are establishing a Burrill/Hambrecht joint venture to be bankers of Initial Public Offerings. They will jointly pursue WR Hambrecht + Co's unique OpenIPO® auctions and the collaboration will target private healthcare companies where auctions will benefit investors and issuers alike.
Based on the rapidly changing dynamics in the equity capital markets, Burrill and WRH+Co are now able to jointly provide a valuable IPO alternative to leading private healthcare companies. OpenIPO® is an innovative auction process for distributing stock to individuals and institutions through a more efficient and equitable process. The auction process allows shares of an initial public offering to be allocated in an impartial way. All successful bidders pay the same price per share. OpenIPO® is designed to enable the issuer to:
- Go public without leaving money "on the table"; and
- To distribute stock to the widest possible audience
The addition of OpenIPO is a key component to the previously announced expansion of Burrill & Company's Merchant Banking capabilities. Burrill Merchant Banking is building on the existing Strategic Partnering, M&A and Capital Raising Services to include traditional underwriting, independent equity research, sales and trading and Merchant Banking funds.
"We are delighted to form this collaboration with WR Hambrecht + Co," said G. Steven Burrill CEO, Burrill & Company, a San Francisco based global leader in life sciences with activities in Private Equity, Venture Capital, Merchant Banking and Media. "This is a major development as it brings together two industry leaders representing almost 100 years of combined experience in financing high growth companies and I believe it will open up a new chapter of biotechnology and life sciences financing.
"As the capital markets evolve, OpenIPO will be a highly valuable tool for healthcare companies to access the public markets, and this collaboration continues our strategy to broaden the Merchant Banking services we provide to the industry."
"We are excited to be partnering with Steve," said Bill Hambrecht, Founder and CEO of WR Hambrecht + Co. "Burrill & Company is a top-notch organization and a world leader in biotech and life sciences. We have done several healthcare auctions and my investments in biotech go all the way back to Genentech. We think this partnership can take advantage of both of our strengths."
About Burrill Merchant Banking
Burrill Merchant Banking assists healthcare companies to identify, negotiate and close strategic transactions. Service lines include:
- Mergers and Acquisitions
- Strategic Partnering
- Spin outs and Divestments
- Public and Private Financing
- Private Equity
About Burrill & Company
Founded in 1994, Burrill & Company is a San Francisco-based global leader in life sciences with activities in Venture Capital, Private Equity, Merchant Banking and Media. The Burrill family of venture capital funds has over $1 billion under management and its merchant banking business is one of the industry leaders in life sciences transactions. Burrill is also the creator, sponsor and facilitator of over a dozen leading industry conferences worldwide and publisher of a range of bio-intelligence reports including the monthly Burrill Report (www.burrillreport.com), which tracks the progress of the global biotechnology industry and annual "State of the Industry" report the latest of which is Biotech 2009-Life Sciences: Navigating the Sea Change, the 23rd annual report on the industry. The 470-plus page book contains analysis and perspectives on the performance of the industry in 2008 and projections for 2009 and beyond. For more information, visit http://www.burrillandco.com
About WR Hambrecht
Founded in 1998 WR Hambrecht + Co is a financial services firm committed to using auctions to provide open and fairness in the capital raising process. The firm's impartial auctions, which allow the market to determine pricing and allocation, are dramatically changing the financial services landscape. WR Hambrecht + Co continues to identify markets where auctions will benefit investors and issuers. WR Hambrecht + Co is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in New York and Philadelphia.
SOURCE Burrill & Company; WR Hambrecht + Co
