Correction, Sept. 17, 2013: Due to a reporter’s error, this article originally stated that SafeStitch raised $160 million. The company instead issued $160 million worth of shares as part of its merger with TransEnterix.
SafeStitch Medical (OTC:SFES) issued $160.4 million worth of stock as part of its merger with TransEnterix.
SafeStitch and TransEnterix inked their merger deal last month, saying SafeStitch would move from Miami to Research Triangle, N.C., but keep its name, stock symbol and place on the OTC exchange.
TransEnterix CEO Todd Pope is at the helm of the new SafeStitch, with medtech veteran Paul LaViolette as board chairman. SafeStitch chairwoman Jane Hsiao and OPKO Health chairman Phillip Frost also have seats on the new entity’s board, the company said at the time.
The merger also included a private placement worth about $30.2 million, SafeStitch said at the time. To consummate the deal, TransEnterix shareholders received nearly 106 million shares which, at $1.52 apiece, were worth $160.3 million, a spokesman told MassDevice.com today via email.
Regulatory filings show that the company’s backers include Aisling Capital, which owns a 20.3% stake; SV Life Sciences, which has a 14.0% share; Synergy Life Science Partners, which owns a 10.1% share; and Intersouth Partners, which has a 10.0% stake. Hsiao owns a 9.4% share in SafeStitch, according to the filings, with co-founder (and ex-president & CEO) Jeffrey Spragens retaining a 2.4% stake. Frost now holds an 8.5% stake.
SafeStitch, founded in 2005 by Dr. Charles Filipi (who holds a 1.7% stake in the news SafeStitch) and Spragens, makes the Amid hernia fixation device. TransEnterix made laparoscopic devices including the Spider and Starr instruments. It was founded in 2006 and raised $21 million in "institutional financing" in 2008, according to its website. Another $55 million round followed in 2009 and TransEnterix raised a further $15 million in venture capital backing in 2011.
