Mario Gabelli, one of the world’s wealthiest men, revealed 5.42 percent ownership in Orthovita Inc. (NSDQ: VITA) just days before Stryker Corp. (NYSE:SYK) launched its tender offer for the Malvern, Pa.-based orthopedic biologics maker.
Gabelli is chairman & CEO of GAMCO Investors Inc. (NYSE:GBL), a $14 billion global investment firm based in Rye, N.Y., and number 937 on Forbes’ 2010 list of the world’s billionaires.
Stryker launched its $3.85-per-share tender offer for Orthovita Inc. (NSDQ:VITA) last week, as it looks to fill the void left by the sale of its troubled OP-1 assets.
Stryker previously announced plans to pay $316 million in cash for Orthovita, which makes a suite of products for the fusion, regeneration and fracture fixation of human bone, including Vitoss, a bone graft substitute, and Cortoss, a bone augmentation material. Stryker launched its tender offer on Friday.
"We like to buy companies that are ignored and unloved," Gabelli said in an interview on Bloomberg Television, talking about GAMCO’s investment preferences.
Gabelli paid more than $16 million out of three of funds under his control, according to the SEC filing. GAMCO had no stake in Orthovita as of its first quarter holdings report, but did report about $1 million invested in Stryker.
Paradigm Capital Management announced a similar take in Orthovita earlier this month, boasting a cool 53 percent minimum return on investment on its 5.5 million shares acquired during the fourth quarter of 2010.
Here’s a roundup of the latest dealflow and investment news:
- MedVentive brings in $1.5 million in Series C round
MedVentive closed a $1.5 million offering in sales of convertible promissory notes and warrants for Series C preferred stock. The Waltham, Mass.-based company transitions doctors to a new risk-based contracting model established by the Accountable Care Organization mandate in the health care reform law.
Read more - Viking Systems lands $3 million
Viking Systems Inc. (OTC:VKNG), a developer, manufacturer and marketer of 3D and 2D visualization solutions for minimally invasive surgery, won the $3 million it sought in sales of equity and other securities. The Westborough, Mass.-based company inked a deal with Universal Medicalcare to sell its new 3DHD Vision System in Mexico in February.
Read more - Bacterin gets $1 million and up to $30 million more from Lincoln Park Capital Fund
Bacterin International Holdings Inc. (OTC:BIHI), a developer of bone graft material, announced that it entered into an equity purchase agreement with Lincoln Park Capital Fund LLC, a Chicago based asset management firm. Under the terms of the agreement, Lincoln Park purchased $1 million worth of warrants and shares of common stock at $3.06 per share, equal to the closing price on May 26. Lincoln Park has promised to invest up to $30 million more in shares over the next three years.
Read more - Immunetics wins $500,000 grant from Mass. Life Sciences Center
Immunetics Inc., a Boston-based developer of diagnostic tests for bacterial, viral and parasitic diseases, announced that it won a $500,000 Massachusetts Life Sciences Center Small Business Matching Grant. The funds will go toward commercializing the company’s BacTx test for detecting bacterial contamination in platelets.
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