Stevanato has listed its shares on the New York Stock Exchange. The IPO fell well short of Stevanato’s initial goal but still grossed $672 million to support investments in its biologics and vaccine delivery capabilities.
Italy’s Stevanato estimates it supplies glass vials and syringes to around 90% of currently marketed COVID-19 vaccine programs. The COVID-19 business drove a 23% jump in sales last year, and a 41% rise in the first quarter. With business booming, Stevanato filed to go public in the U.S. to raise more money to bankroll its expansion plans.
Stevanato went public late last week but missed its original fundraising goal. Originally, Stevanato set out plans to sell 40 million shares for $21 to $24 a piece. At the midpoint of the range, that proposal would have generated gross proceeds of $900 million.
In the end, Stevanato downsized its IPO to 32 million shares and hit the bottom end of its target range, resulting in gross proceeds of $672 million. The stock then opened 20% down before partly recovering later in the day.
While the IPO fell short of the initial goal, Stevanato has still secured a sizable warchest to support its expansion plans. Stevanato’s IPO paperwork lacks a detailed breakdown of how it will use the cash but identifies the expansion of manufacturing around its headquarters in Italy and the establishment of greenfield sites “with a strong focus on biologics and vaccines” as investment priorities. The EZ-Fill line of ready-to-fill injectable products is a focal point of the spending.
EZ-Fill and a range of drug delivery systems are part of a portfolio of “high-value” products that are central to the growth strategy at Stevanato. In recent years, Stevanato has established a portfolio of drug delivery systems featuring a pen injector, an auto-injector, an inhaler and a wearable delivery system as it seeks to compete with companies such as SHL Medical, Ypsomed Selfcare Solutions, West Pharma and Becton Dickinson for the growth market.