[Funding alert] Stelis concludes $195 M Series B, C fund raise

Strides Pharma Science on Friday said its biotech arm Stelis Biopharma concluded its Series B and Series C fund raise for a cumulative amount of $ 195 million (approx Rs 1,415 crore).

Post money valuation for Stelis will be pegged at $ 350 million.

Stelis Biopharma has successfully concluded its series B and Series C fund raise for a cumulative amount of $ 195 million, Strides Pharma Science said in a regulatory filing.

Strides Pharma Science said, with the current capital raise, Stelis is now well positioned to pursue its growth initiatives and scale its business model to deliver promising returns in the coming years.

Strides said it will demerge and list its biopharma business under Stelis on a standalone basis, enabling significant value unlocking for Strides shareholders.

Strides said Stelis, as part of its series B, issue will raise $ 70 million from existing investors at the current pre-money valuation of $ 155 million through partly paid shares.

The company has raised an additional $ 125 million through series C funding round including a primary infusion of $ 85 million in the company, and a secondary placement of $ 40 million for GMS Holdings, an existing shareholder.

This funding round was led by TPG Growth, and followed by other long-term investors namely, Route One, Think Investments and the Mankekar Family, Stride said, adding that the post money valuation for the business pegged at $ 350 million.

The transaction is subject to approval from shareholders, meeting customary closing conditions and is expected to achieve closure in over 12 months.

Commenting on the development, Arun Kumar, Founder of Strides Group, remarked,

“We are delighted with current round of capital raise at Stelis led by TPG Growth along with Route One, Think Investments and the Mankekar family. I am extremely thankful to Matt Hobart and Ankur Thadani from TPG Growth, Bill Duhamel and Justin Maletsky from Route One, Shashin Shah from Think Investments, Shivanand and Kedar from the Mankekar family for their trust in our leadership.

"We are pleased that GMS will continue to be our shareholder post the secondary placement. Stelis is now getting into its growth phase and is witnessing strong customer traction for its CDMO offerings including Vaccines. We are confident to build a sustainable business and deliver significant value for our shareholders.”

(Disclaimer: Additional background information has been added to this PTI copy for context)