TyraTech, which supplies its products to the agriculture, horticulture, functional foods, healthcare and veterinary science markets around the world, raised £25 million before expenses.
The company has been valued at £110 million following the completion of the IPO, which priced its 5 million new common shares at 500p each.
The proceeds, some £22 million, will be used to develop its products, enhance its product support operations and reduce its debt.
TyraTech’s chief executive, Douglas Armstrong, said the positive reception by its high quality institutional investors reflects the exciting, innovative products that TyraTech is producing.
“We are particularly indebted to our talented employees and appreciative of our world class partners for their ability to recognise and invest in a new standard of highly potent products that control insects and parasites yet are safer for humans, animals and the environment, a standard being increasingly sought by the pesticide industry and now recognised by the capital markets,” he added.
The IPO was managed by Nomura Code Securities, TyraTech’s nominated adviser, which was also joint broker with Jefferies International.
The legal issues of the transaction were handled by Morgan Lewis, which used a team of attorneys in London and Philadelphia to complete the deal led by partner Keith Black and included tax, IP and US securities law specialists.
Keith Black said TyraTech is one of a series of businesses created by Morgan Lewis’ existing client, XL TechGroup.
“The transaction involved not only a restructuring of TyraTech’s existing business, based in the US, but simultaneous US and non-US offerings,” he added. “The breadth and depth of our team allowed us to pull together all of those elements in several jurisdictions in a timely and efficient manner.”
TyraTech is developing and commercialising natural, safer and highly effective plant-oil derived products to kill or repel insects and parasites. It is developing more than 20 products and plans to release six of these in the next 12 months.
The company is also working with several blue chip companies, such as Syngenta Crop Protection, The Scotts Company LLC, Arysta LifeScience North America Corporation and Kraft Foods Holdings.
