NEW YORK – Natera said on Tuesday that it has priced the $250 million convertible senior notes offering it had announced the day before.
The notes, which will be sold to qualified institutional buyers, will have an initial conversion rate of 25.7785 shares of common stock per $1,000 principal amount of notes, which represents an initial effective conversion price of about $38.79 per share, approximately a 30 percent premium to the $29.84 closing price of Natera's stock on Monday.
The initial buyers of the notes have been granted a 13-day option to purchase up to an additional $37.5 million aggregate principal amount of the notes.
As previously noted, Natera plans to use a portion of the net proceeds from the offering to repay its 2017 Term Loan with OrbiMed, and another part for working capital, general corporate purposes, and research and development. It may also use the proceeds to acquire complementary businesses, technologies, or other assets, though the firm said it has no agreements or understandings regarding material acquisitions or strategic transactions at this time.
The senior notes will pay 2.25 percent interest in cash per year on a semi-annual basis, starting Nov. 1, and will mature on May 1, 2027 unless redeemed, repurchased, or converted prior to this date.
The sale is expected to close on April 16.