NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Sequenom said after the close of the market on Monday it plans to offer $100 million in convertible senior notes due 2017.
Proceeds from the private offering will be used to continue commercialization of its MaterniT21 Plus LDT non-invasive aneuploidy test and for general corporate purposes, it said.
The test for detecting trisomies 21, 18, and 13 was launched in October 2011. Last week Sequenom announced several distribution deals, expanding access to the test outside of the US. The San Diego-based molecular diagnostics firm also increased the 52-week run rate for the test to 70,000 total samples from an earlier estimate of 65,000.
Sequenom said that it intends to grant to the initial purchasers of the convertible senior notes a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional $20.0 million aggregate principal amount of the convertible notes to cover any overallotments.
The convertible notes will be convertible any time prior to the third trading day immediately preceding the maturity date into shares of Sequenom common stock, at the option of its holders.
The company raised about $62 million in gross proceeds in January in a public offering.