3:37 am Celladon and Eiger BioPharmaceuticals sign merger agreement; concurrent financing of $39.5 million from investor syndicate (CLDN) :
Celladon Corporation (Nasdaq:CLDN) and Eiger BioPharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately-held biopharmaceutical company, today announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which the stockholders of Eiger would become the majority owners of Celladon, and the operations of Celladon and Eiger would be combined. The proposed merger remains subject to certain conditions, including the approval of Celladon stockholders. If approved, upon closing of the transaction, Celladon will be renamed Eiger BioPharmaceuticals
An investor syndicate has committed to invest $39.5 million in the combined company including new investors HBM Healthcare Investments, RA Capital Management, Sabby Management, Sphera Global Healthcare, Perceptive Advisors and Monashee Capital Partners together with existing long-time Eiger stockholders, ViVo Capital and InterWest Partners.
The total cash balance of the combined company upon the closing of the proposed merger and the financing is expected to be greater than $60 million
Management and Organization - The directors and executive officers of Celladon will resign from their positions with Celladon upon the closing of the proposed merger, and the combined company will be under the leadership of Eiger's current executive management team with David Cory serving as President and Chief Executive Officer.
Celladon CEO Transition - Celladon also announced that, as part of a further reduction in force implemented in connection with the signing of the merger agreement, Paul Cleveland, President and Chief Executive Officer, is leaving the company effective November 19, 2015 to pursue other industry opportunities. Fredrik Wiklund, Celladon's Vice President of Corporate Development and Investor Relations has been named Celladon's President and Chief Executive Officer effective the same date.