Gates Foundation-backed biotech firm eyes Singapore IPO

It seeks $300m valuation on junior market.

According to Bloomberg, Liquidia Technologies, a biotechnology firm backed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is planning a Singapore initial public offering this year, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The U.S. company aims to list on Singapore’s junior Catalist market at a valuation of about S$300 million ($211 million), the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. Liquidia is in early talks with investors including Malaysian sovereign fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd. about selling a stake before the proposed offering, according to the people.Liquidia was founded in 2004 and is led by Chief Executive Officer Neal Fowler, the former president of Johnson & Johnson’s Centocor unit. The company’s current investors include GlaxoSmithKline Plc, the largest U.K. drugmaker, as well as venture capital firms Canaan Partners, New Enterprise Associates Inc. and Morningside Group, according to its website.

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