Otsuka to launch cut price IPO
Japan’s Otsuka Holdings priced its $2.4bn (£1.53bn) flotation at the lower end of its range, reflecting worries the drugmaker will struggle to find a successor for its schizophrenia drug, Abilify. Otsuka has until April 2015 before its patent on Abilify expires, and investors said the company has no comparable products to replace it so far. By going public now, Otsuka will acquire a war chest that may give it the ammunition to shop around for a new hit remedy. “I get the feeling it’s being discounted because its future is unclear due to… its dependence on Abilify,” said Yutaka Kakizaki, an analyst at Chibagin Asset Management.