Woodford Investment Management will auction unlisted biotech investments which include Oxford Nanopore in a process that could take three months to reach its conclusion.
Fund manager Woodford Investment Management is set to invite bids for its unlisted biotech investments as part of a structured auction that could take up to three months to complete, Reuters reported yesterday.
A source told the newswire boutique investment bank PJT would begin conducting the sell-off later this month, though an official mandate is yet to be struck.
Woodford Investment Management is also dispensing of some of its listed biotech assets, including both illiquid and fully-liquid holdings. These disposals will be grouped into categorised portfolios for auction, the source claimed.
US and Europe-based investors are already thought to have expressed interest, with the healthcare and biotech segments representing almost 25% of Woodford Investment’s overall portfolio value.
A spokesman for Woodford Investment reaffirmed head of investment Neil Woodford’s earlier claim that “big discounts” would be unnecessary, and some of the more valuable assets could be sold off individually depending on investor demand.
Woodford’s top 10 holdings by market value include genetic sequencing technology developer Oxford Nanopore, a spinout of University of Oxford, and automated drug discovery platform BenevolentAI, which counts drug makers Lundbeck and Upsher-Smith Laboratories among its backers.
Though both are unicorns with valuations in excess of $1bn, Woodford may find it difficult to settle on a price for the duo, as much will depend on profit expectations and the appetite of investors.
Moreover both businesses have pre-emptive rights in force for existing shareholders, meaning Woodford would need to consult with its consortium peers before opening talks with a potential buyer.
Then again the outlook for Oxford Nanopore could yet improve, should Woodford choose to bide his time until a likely initial public offering for the spinout anticipated by April 2020.
The development comes after Woodford Investment Management extended the suspension of its flagship Equity Income fund on July 1, having initially halted withdrawals from the vehicle in June 2019 amid multiplying refund demands from investors.
Equity Income was stung by a series of unsuccessful investments leading up to the suspension, which has drawn public criticism for blocking investor access to savings despite the open-ended fund having pledged to return cash without prior notice.
