NanoString Technologies has reached a binding agreement with Patient Square Capital in which NanoString will sell substantially all of its assets to the investment firm for $220 million.
In a statement, NanoString said that Patient Square has agreed to purchase NanoString’s assets as a going concern for $220 million, pending U.S. Bankruptcy Court approval and customary closing conditions. The agreement is part of a sale process under Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code that will be subject to compliance with agreed-upon and U.S. Bankruptcy Court-approved bidding procedures which allow for the submission of higher or otherwise better offers, in which Patient Square will serve as the "stalking horse" bidder.
A court hearing to approve the "stalking horse" bid and bidding procedures will take place on March 28, 2024, subject to the court’s availability. NanoString is requesting that the deadline for competing offers be set for 5 p.m. EST on April 12, 2024, and that a hearing to approve the sale be set for April 22, 2024.
"This agreement with Patient Square provides continuity for our scientific customers and employees, and represents an important step in our financial restructuring," Brad Gray, president and CEO of NanoString, said in the firm’s statement.
NanoString filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in early February following a Delaware jury awarding $31 million in damages to 10x Genomics in one of several patent infringement lawsuits brought against NanoString by 10x Genomics. NanoString shares fell almost 50% following that verdict, prompting the company to withdraw its full year 2023 and fourth-quarter financial guidance pending a review of the litigation's effect on its business. In January, the firm announced plans to cut 50 jobs as part of its financial restructuring; it also announced that it had received a delisting notice from Nasdaq that the company's common stock price had closed below Nasdaq's $1 per share minimum bid price requirement for 30 consecutive business days.
In early February, the firm announced that some of its existing lenders had agreed to extend at least $40 million in new capital in the form of debtor in possession financing, pursuant to U.S. Bankruptcy Court approval, to ensure that NanoString could continue operating while cases were pending.
