Medicxi, a European life sciences investment firm, has held the closing of Medicxi Secondary 1 (MS1) in connection with the completion of an “Exit & Reinvest” type of structured secondary transaction. The interests in six clinical and preclinical stage companies held by Index Ventures Life VI, a dedicated life sciences fund advised by Medicxi, were acquired by a newly formed fund managed by Medicxi, called MS1. The new fund has been anchored by leading secondary investor, Pantheon (London), with LGT Capital Partners (Pfaeffikon, Switzerland) as co-lead investor.
The portfolio was acquired by MS1 at a premium to its net asset value. MS1 has committed to invest in each of the six portfolio companies the funding required to accelerate their clinical development plans through to the next stages of value creation. The investors in Index Ventures Life VI received proceeds from the sale of the portfolio to MS1 and were also offered the opportunity to re-invest their proceeds into MS1. Medicxi is excited by the potential of the acquired portfolio as well as the high level of conviction shown by both the reinvesting Index Ventures Life VI investors and the investors that are new to the portfolio.
Francesco De Rubertis, co-founder and Partner at Medicxi, says: “We are happy with the strong interest that these world leading investors have shown towards both the portfolio and the transaction model, which has been used in the private equity industry, but unprecedented in clinical stage biotechnology. We believe this Exit and Reinvest type of transaction (“E&R”) can be the blueprint for future investments by investors interested in obtaining exposure to biotechnology, but who are concerned by the long cycles of value creation in the asset class. In the future, this E&R approach will enable monetisation of the value created in the first steps of drug development, while simultaneously creating the optionality of retaining the future upside of late stage drug development.”
Matt Jones, MD Pantheon, says: “Given the reputation and track record of the Medicxi team, we were delighted to lead this innovative transaction. At Pantheon, our focus is on backing top tier managers globally and this transaction will enable us to benefit from the tremendous potential the biotechnology industry offers.”
Campbell Luytens acted as financial advisor and Travers Smith acted as principal legal advisor to Medicxi on the secondary transaction.
