Seelos Therapeutics' $5.55M Public Offering As Stock Drop 35%

Psychedelics biotech Seelos Therapeutics SEEL announced the pricing of a new underwritten public offering for an estimated $5.5 million in gross proceeds. The offering is expected to close on or about Dec. 1, 2023.

On Tuesday, Seelos shares’ closing price was at $2.35, and Wednesday's opening price  was $1.51, a nearly 35% decline. Daily price is currently ranging between low $1.35 and $1.40. 

The company had previously announced a 1-for-30 reverse stock split of its outstanding common stock shares, effective Nov. 28, 2023, at 12:01 am ET, at which point stock began trading on a stock split-adjusted basis at market's opening ($2.71.)

The new offering, of which CEO Dr. Raj Mehra and other senior management are investors, pertains to 1,781,934 common stock shares, pre-funded warrants to purchase up to 2,422,612 common stock shares and accompanying common warrants to purchase up to 4,204,546 common stock shares.

Each common stock share and accompanying common warrant to purchase one common stock share are sold to the public at $1.32 each; each pre-funded warrant and accompanying common warrant to purchase one common stock share are sold to the public at $1.319 each.

Pre-funded warrants will be immediately exercisable at an exercise of $0.001 per share. Common warrants will be immediately exercisable, with an exercise price of $1.32 per share and will expire five years past the offering’s closing. 

All common stock shares, pre-funded warrants and accompanying common warrants in the offering are being sold by Seelos, with Titan Partners Group (a division of American Capital Partners) acting as the sole book-runners.

Although gross proceeds would be around five and a half million, they exclude the exercise of a 45-day option for underwriters to purchase additional common stock shares, pre-funded warrants and/or common warrants specifically, up to an additional 15% of the aggregate number of common stock shares (or pre-funded warrants) and/or the common warrants sold under the offering’s terms and conditions.

Seelos intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, advancing its product candidates' development (see lead candidate novel ketamine SLS-002’s upcoming assessment for PTSD in a Dept. of Defense-funded clinical trial) and to make periodic principal and interest payments under, or to repay a portion of, its outstanding convertible promissory note issued in Nov. 2021.

Photo: Benzinga edit with photo by Raimundo79 and Blue Planet Studio on Shutterstock.