GW Pharma To Raise $86 Million In Offering; Shares Down Off All-Time High

GW Pharmaceuticals PLC GWPH shares sank in pre-market trading Wednesday after the company said it will raise $86.3 million in a public offering. But the U.K.-based company is still trading near its all-time high, hit Tuesday, after an optimistic report concerning a small U.S. trial of its experimental cannabis drug Epidiolex in treating an unusual form of epilepsy in children. Selling shareholders include Prudential PLC, Capital Research Management Co., and a group of eight GW investors. Plans call for selling 1.7 million American Depositary shares and granting underwriters an option to purchase up to an additional 255,000 shares. The company, which grows marijuana at a secret location in England, said it will use $30 million in proceeds of the offering to fund pre-launch activities for Epidiolex in the U.S if the product is approved. An additional $25 million earmarked for expansion of growing and manufacturing capacity and to build up inventory. It will also spend $25 million for other product development and $6 million on general corporate purposes. GW traded recently at $84.97, down 5.39 percent. Its all-time high Tuesday was $91.10.