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BPCR Biopharma Credit Plc

0.876
-0.002 (-0.23%)
Last Updated: 11:38:04
Delayed by 15 minutes
Share Name Share Symbol Market Type Share ISIN Share Description
Biopharma Credit Plc LSE:BPCR London Ordinary Share GB00BDGKMY29 ORD USD0.01
  Price Change % Change Share Price Shares Traded Last Trade
  -0.002 -0.23% 0.876 598,580 11:38:04
Bid Price Offer Price High Price Low Price Open Price
0.874 0.878 0.878 0.874 0.878
Industry Sector Turnover Profit EPS - Basic PE Ratio Market Cap
Finance Services 135.74M 108.45M 0.0833 10.44 1.13B
Last Trade Time Trade Type Trade Size Trade Price Currency
11:56:12 O 3,132,090 0.876 USD

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Date Time Title Posts
24/4/202411:13::: BIOPHARMA CREDIT PLC :::217

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Biopharma Credit (BPCR) Top Chat Posts

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Posted at 25/4/2024 09:20 by Biopharma Credit Daily Update
Biopharma Credit Plc is listed in the Finance Services sector of the London Stock Exchange with ticker BPCR. The last closing price for Biopharma Credit was US$0.88.
Biopharma Credit currently has 1,302,679,192 shares in issue. The market capitalisation of Biopharma Credit is £1,133,330,897.
Biopharma Credit has a price to earnings ratio (PE ratio) of 10.44.
This morning BPCR shares opened at US$0.88
Posted at 24/4/2024 11:13 by davebowler
Liberum-
Major new investment
Analyst: Shonil Chande

Mkt Cap £865m | Share price $0.88 | Prem/(disc) -10.4% | Div yield 8.0%

Event

BioPharma Credit has agreed a new senior-secured loan investment of up $100m with Tarsus Pharmaceuticals (a listed US biopharma entity market cap of $1.2bn). BioPharma Credit Investments V will invest up to an additional $100m in parallel. The loan will mature in April 2029 and has the following interest profile: 3-month SOFR plus 6.75% p/a, subject to a 3.75% SOFR floor.

Under the terms of the transaction, the Company will invest up to US$100 million across four tranches:

Tranche A of $37.5m was drawn on 19 April 2024;
Tranche B of $12.5m will be available to be drawn at the election of Tarsus until 31 December 2024;
Tranche C of $25m will be available upon achievement of certain revenue thresholds until 30 June 2025;
Tranche D of $25m will be available upon achievement of certain revenue thresholds until 31 December 2025.
Liberum view

This is BPCR’s largest new investment since May 2023 and potentially one of its largest in recent years. At c.5.348% 90-day SOFRA, the loan will pay interest at 12.1% (minimum of 10.5%, taking account of the SOFR floor). YTD, BPCR’s shares have returned 9.9% on a TR basis and the discount has narrowed by 6ppts. We identified BPCR as one of our top picks for this year in our model portfolio note.

BPCR’s revised discount control mechanism, effective since late March 2024, provides greater capacity to take advantage of deployment opportunities such as Tarsus, while still maintaining significant support to the shares via repurchases (strong impact based on our tracked indicators). In BPCR’s case, returns from portfolio opportunities are higher than from buybacks. We calculate an ROI from buybacks of c.10% YTD, with a c.+0.5% impact on NAV per share YTD.
Posted at 09/2/2024 12:21 by speedsgh
Q4 dividend announcement which includes another special div taking FY payment to 10.21 cents...

-------------------------

Dividend Declaration -

2.96 CENT PER SHARE DISTRIBUTION INCLUDES 1.2 CENT SPECIAL DECLARATION

BioPharma Credit PLC (LSE: BPCR), the specialist life sciences debt investor, is pleased to declare an interim dividend in respect of the financial period ending 31 December 2023 of $0.02957930 per ordinary share, payable on 15 March 2024 to ordinary shareholders on the register as at 16 February 2024. The ex-dividend date will be 15 February 2024. The Company has chosen to designate the entire amount of this interim dividend as an interest distribution. Shareholders in receipt of such a dividend will be treated for UK tax purposes as though they have received a payment of interest. This will result in a reduction in the corporation tax payable by the Company.

The $0.02957930 dividend comprises an ordinary dividend of $0.0175 and a special dividend of $0.01207930. The Company is currently paying and continues to target a 7 cent annual dividend per ordinary share. This will bring total dividends for 2023 to 10.21 cents including special dividends totalling 3.21 cents.
Posted at 06/2/2024 10:43 by davebowler
Liberum-
Coherus to prepay 70% of loan
Analyst: Shonil Chande

Mkt Cap £937m | Share price $0.93 | Prem/(disc) -6.4% | Div yield 7.5%

Event

Coherus, BioPharma Credit’s fourth largest loan investment as at 31 December 2023, has announced plans to partially prepay $175m of the outstanding $250m principal balance under an existing loan agreement. BPCR, through its stake in the loan, is due to receive $87.5m, with the prepayment expected in Q2 2024. The residual balance on BPCR’s stake in the loan will be $37.5m.

Coherus recently announced an agreement to divest its ophthalmology business to Sandoz for $170m, with the deal expected to close in H1 2024. The product in question, Cimerli, accounted for c.54% of Coherus’ revenues. Prepaying most of the loan will reduce Coherus’ expected annual interest payments by c.70%.

Pharmakon Advisors, BPCR’s investment advisor, entered into a loan agreement with Coherus in January 2022. The facility provided Coherus with up to $300m, across four tranches, paying interest at 8.25% plus three-month LIBOR p/a, with a LIBOR floor of 1.00%.

Loan agreement with Coherus –prepayment fees and make-whole summaries

The following summary is based on the loan agreement with Coherus

Prepayment fees:

Before the third anniversary of the Tranche A Closing Date, the prepayment fee is 3.00% of the principal amount prepaid.
After the third anniversary but before the fourth anniversary of the Tranche A Closing Date, the prepayment fee is 2.00%.
Thereafter and before the Maturity Date, the prepayment fee is 1.00%.
Make-whole amount:

In addition to the prepayment fees, a make-whole amount will be payable for full or partial prepayment of a tranche before the second anniversary of the applicable funding. This amount is equal to the foregone interest from the date of prepayment through the second anniversary of the Tranche A Closing Date. Based on the available information, there is not likely to be any make-whole payment for the first two tranches advanced before April 2022.



Liberum view
We identified BPCR as one of our top picks in the recent model portfolio note. BPCR sits in a sweet spot by providing credit to established life sciences entities that are loathed to dilute their equity base.

BPCR will be due prepayment fees from Coherus repaying. Assuming the deal closes in June 2024, we estimate the prepayment fee due to BPCR will be c.$1.75m, based on the $87.5m principal and the 2.0% prepayment fee due after the third anniversary. On a pro-rata IRR basis, we estimate the 70% principal repayment and associated interest paid/loans advanced amounts to a c.12% IRR.

As at 31 December 2023, BPCR held cash of $212m. Across the ordinary dividends, special dividends, and share repurchases, BPCR is one of the most significant distributors within Alternative funds. Since the start of 2024, BPCR has spent $33.9m on share repurchases
Posted at 12/1/2024 15:31 by davebowler
Buyback Watch: BioPharma Credit (BPCR)

Announced buybacks are back on the agenda after issuing an update on its LumiraDx (LMDX) loan. Over to broker Jefferies for a quick summary: “This announcement marks a successful recovery of BPCR's troubled loan to LMDX. The business being sold to Roche represents 81.5% of the total loan amount outstanding, but 117% of BPCR's current carrying value for its 50% share of the loan, so implying a small c.2% NAV uplift. We also note there could be a further recovery of value for BPCR and the other senior lenders upon liquidation of the company. Importantly, BPCR is likely to be able to resume share buybacks now it is no longer an insider, with the recent EGM circular highlighting $115m of cash available for repurchases (equivalent to c.9% of NAV), aimed at closing the discount into 5%. All together this points to some healthy upside to the current share price, with the shares currently trading on a 16% discount to NAV, not least because the recovery firmly validates the manager's process and the strength of security in protecting the principal value of the loan.”
Posted at 02/1/2024 17:54 by gsbmba99
Excerpt:
"Jefferies analyst Matthew Hose said there could be a further recovery when LuxmiraDx is liquidated.

‘All together this points to some healthy upside to the current share price, with the shares currently trading on a 16% discount to NAV, not least because the recovery firmly validates the manager’s process and the strength of security in protecting the principal value of the loan,’ Hose said in a note early this morning, maintaining a ‘buy’ recommendation.

Stifel analyst Sachin Saggar said it was unclear whether the $362m LumiraDx owes includes accrued interest as the original loan of $331m was structured as a bullet loan, meaning no interest is paid until maturity. Interest since the initial loan in March 2021 would total about $30m a year, which could add a further 1.5% to the NAV.

Saggar called for BPCR’s chair Harry Hyman and fund manager Pedro Gonzalez de Cosio to review their response to LuxmiraDx’s problems, saying they should have written down the loan earlier ‘when the original risk underwritten has meaningfully changed’.

‘We would hope the manager and board reviews their valuation approach such that the next time a road bump occurs, risk is appropriately priced into the NAV.’"
Posted at 02/1/2024 10:43 by davebowler
Liberum-BioPharma Credit Wind down of LumiraDX and sale of assets to RocheAnalyst: Joachim KlementMkt Cap £859m | Share price $0.84 | Prem/(disc) -17.1% | Div yield 8.3%EventThe company announced that on 29 December 2023, LumiraDX appointed Andrew Johnson, Lisa Rickelton, and Lindsay Hallam of FTI Consulting as administrators for two of its subsidiaries that hold essentially all assets of LumiraDX. The administrators have entered into a sale and purchase agreement with Roche Diagnostics providing for the acquisition of LumiraDX's point-of-care diagnostics platform business for $295m. The sale is subject to antitrust and foreign direct investment approvals but will close as soon as these approvals are received. Until the approval, BioPharma Credit Investments V and BPCR Limited have agreed to provide up to $59.2m in funding for LumiraDX for the ongoing operations. Under the purchase agreement, Roche has agreed to reimburse the lenders for up to $55m in funds.With the appointment of the administrators, the loans of BPCR to LumiraDX are considered to be in default. The principal amount of the defaulted loans is $361.8m and, together with the accrued interest, is immediately due. Since LumiraDX is unable to pay the sum immediately, the loan will be satisfied from the assets sold as part of the wind-down. It is expected that shareholders and unsecured creditors will not receive any distributions and all distributions will go to secured creditors to pay for outstanding debt.Pharmakon Advisors has said that the information in this morning's announcement helped form the basis for the main assumptions reflected in the current valuation of the LumiraDx loan (and was reflected in the November NAV). The valuation of BPCR's investment was written down materially in October, but it is unclear at this stage whether further losses will be realised. The current discount to NAV on which BPCR currently trades provides plenty of downside protection in our view, however, with Lumira representing c.9.6% of NAV.
Posted at 01/11/2023 11:13 by davebowler
Liberum -Routine passing of continuation resolution very likely
Analyst: Shonil Chande

Mkt Cap £885m | Share price $0.83 | Prem/(disc) -20.2% | Div yield 8.5%

Event

BioPharma Credit has traded at an average discount above 10% over the 12-month rolling period to 31 October 2023, triggering a continuation resolution. A general meeting must therefore be convened, proposing a continuation resolution by 31 December 2023.

Liberum view

We expect the continuation resolution to pass without incident. This is a vehicle with a strong track record (five-year annualised NAV total return of 9.4%), high distribution capacity, and the potential to significantly return capital via repurchases and deliver another special dividend. BPCR’s current inability to support its shares through repurchases is a result of having two observer seats on the LumiraDx board. C.98% of the portfolio has exposure to floating rate loans and the $0.07 dividend is comfortably covered, excluding the LumiraDx loan. BPCR is thought to have over $220m in cash following Reata Pharmaceuticals̵7; acquisition in August.

BPCR last repurchased shares on 11 July 2023. Given the size of the current discount and BPCR’s capacity to invest a significant portion of its market cap into repurchases, there is potential for material NAV accretion. BPCR repurchased over $50m in shares last year, at a buyback yield of c.3.9%. Within Alternatives, this was the second-largest figure in absolute terms after Balanced Commercial Property (£58m). BPCR’s repurchases represented 16.1% of overall volumes last year (4.8% YTD) and 78% of volumes on the days it was active in the market.

Once the LumiraDx loan is cleared up, we would expect a significant increase in share buybacks and the company is also expected to pay a special dividend this year, which it has done each year since 2017.
Posted at 18/8/2023 13:28 by speedsgh
Good news for BioPharma Credit as Biogen swoops on Reata -

BioPharma Credit (BPCR), the specialist debt fund struggling with concerns over one of its big loans, is in line for a payday after US biotech company Biogen announced the acquisition of portfolio holding Reata Pharmaceuticals, which could net the investment trust returns of more than 70%, analysts estimate.

In May, the £851m trust agreed a $137.5m senior secured loan to Reata over up to four payments; $62.5m has already been funded. BPCR will be recompensated for that sum, as well as fees for early prepayment.

In an announcement on 31 July, the trust estimated the early repayment fees of 3% would total $15.5m if the transaction closed at the end of September, a sum that is likely to be higher given the trust anticipates completion in the following quarter, when it will have incurred more interest.

The shares rose 1% to 0.85 cents on Monday as investors leapt at the first bit of good news since May, when the dollar-denominated trust flagged its second-largest investment, LumiraDx, which accounts for 12.8% of assets, as a problem loan.

The shares had fallen 13% since their 0.97-cent peak this year in mid-May to 0.84 cents, representing a 14.6% discount to net asset value (NAV).

JP Morgan Cazenove analyst Chris Brown estimated the gross uplift from prepayment fees and make-whole fees would add 0.8% to NAV after performance charges, based on the calculation that BPCR is likely to exceed the 6% hurdle given high interest rates.

He added that the 16.9% discount to NAV at the end of last week was larger than the LumiraDx loans, reflecting that investors have priced in the worst, being a LumiraDx default.

Floating rate loans, whose coupons have risen with interest rate rises, make up 98% of the portfolio, setting the trust on track for another special dividend, which it has paid out every year since launch in 2017.

Maintaining an ‘overweight’ recommendation, he said: ‘Today’s announcement is a helpful piece of positive news for BPCR and a reminder of the attractive returns on offer, including the strong prepayment protections written into all the loans.’

Numis analyst Ewan Lovett-Turner said the positive news demonstrated BPCR’s approach, where the underlying assets it lends to have value to strategic buyers, and flagged the significant early prepayment fees it earns in the event of an acquisition.
Posted at 24/5/2023 07:17 by mondex
From CityWire:

Concerns are rising around BioPharma Credit (BPCR) as the lender to US drugs companies reported ‘problem’; borrower LumiraDx has seen a slide in revenues this year as Covid-19 revenues fizzle out.

Pharmakon Advisors, which manages the £984m investment trust, made a $300m loan to diagnostics platform LumiraDx in 2021, half of which was funded by BPCR, representing 15% of assets, its fifth biggest of 12 loans. The debt matures in 2024 and is secured against LumiraDx’s assets, including the rights to its testing platform, point-of-care diagnostic systems, and its molecular technology.

The size of the loan to the company is now causing nervousness as LumiraDx delivered revenue of just $22.2m in the first three months of the year, a steep fall from the $126m delivered in the same period in 2022, which was the final quarter of Covid-19-related revenues from the Omicron variant. It racked up a loss of $44.1m for the quarter.

Shares in Nasdaq-listed LumriaDx have fallen 8% over the past five days, while BPCR’s 8%-yielding shares have shed 4% to stand at a 1% discount below net asset value.

Over the past year, stock in LumiraDx shares has plunged 87%. The company plans to go back to the market to raise as much as $100m of additional capital this year, having raised around $840m on the stock market as of 31 March, plus an additional $52m in grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. However, a capital raise last year saw the stock shed 20% of its value.

Jefferies analyst Matthew Hose said a raise would come with ‘execution risk and would not be enough to cash cover the loan’.

He noted the Nasdaq exchange has notified the company that its shares could be subject to delisting because it failed to meet the $1 minimum bid price.

‘Furthermore, even though the loan has a relatively modest fixed interest rate of 8%, we see a refinancing via a third-party lender as doubtful in the context of the current cash burn,’ said Hose, who downgraded BPCR from ‘hold’ to ‘underperform’.

‘A more likely option, in our view, would be that Pharmakon and BPCR amends and extends the loan.’

The company is currently in the middle of a restructuring, which accounted for a large drop in operating expenses, although BPCR said additional restructuring announced in April is not factored into the accounts.

‘Additional restructuring activities are expected to reduce the global workforce by 40% with expense reductions of $36m per annum with the full impact from June 2023 onward,’ said the trust.

A ‘problem child’
Numis investment trust analyst Ewan Lovett-Turner said it was ‘clearly disappointing to see a large investment…suffering declining sales and a cash shortage’.

However, he said this was not a new problem but a ‘continuation of a trend seen throughout 2022 as Covid-19-related revenues declined for its point-of-care diagnostic systems’.

‘This has been a problem child for BPCR and its adjusted covenants in 2022 to reflect the changing environment,’ he said.

However, Lovett-Turner said the trust had ‘never made a loss on a loan’ thanks to the strength of its underwriting, which is based on borrowers having assets to support the loan.

‘This has often led to troubled companies being acquired, which funds the debt repayment,’ he said.

‘Strengthening the cash position and balance sheet would be welcomed and we expect the results of the equity raise to be closely watched, we note the company has previously had some significant backing from investors such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It will be also interesting to see whether there is further corporate action on the horizon.’

Stifel analyst Sachin Saggar said a concentrated loan book like BPCR is ‘always going to have moments where investors are unnerved if borrowers fall materially below expectations’. However, he said disappointing fund updates should not be a ‘bolt from the blue’ and should instead be ‘progressively priced into the NAV, as clearly borrower risk has increased since underwriting’.

He noted that an investor call with LumiraDx focused on product growth and approvals, even in the Q&A section, with ‘no concern around balance sheet’ from investors.

‘It does not appear to us that despite Covid-19 revenues falling off a cliff the company is running into immediate issues, but also that investors would prefer this loan, which is 15% of NAV, to be repaid sooner rather than later,’ said Saggar.

‘This is likely to take some months and in the interim we expect the discount to widen, given we expect the loan to be marked at par.’

Launched in March 2017, BPCR has generated a five-year total shareholder return of 40% from the quarterly dividends it pays.
Posted at 22/3/2023 09:06 by davebowler
Liberum
BioPharma Credit

Strong income play
Analyst: Shonil Chande and Joachim Klement

Mkt Cap £1,018m | Share price $0.95 | Prem/(disc) -6.9% | Div yield 7.4%

Event

BioPharma Credit's NAV per share of 101.4 cents, as at 31 December 2022, represented an increase of 2.1% and a NAV total return of 13.9%. As at 22 March 2023, the investment portfolio comprises c.$1.1bn across 10 transactions, with a weighted average loan life of 3.7 years. Senior secured loans comprised 90% of the invested portfolio with the balance attributable to purchased payments. Within senior secured, 81% are floating-rate loans and 19% are fixed-rate loans. BPCR held cash of $333m at 31 December 2022.

BPCR made five investments totalling $665m in FY22, the largest being $325m that was funded to Collegium. Cash totalling $830m was received from five repayments, amortisation payments and the BMS purchased payments.



Liberum view
Returns in 2022 were well-above BPCR's medium-term annual target of 8-9% (+8% annualised from inception in Mar-17, assuming reinvestment of dividends) and the FY23 dividend is expected to be comfortably covered. The proportion of floating-rate senior loans increased from 46% to 81% in the year. While this is a strategy built around concentrated positions, investments are de-risked by the loan investments (predominantly secured) being to established companies with approved commercial-stage products. Collateral values are assigned only to approved products. The nature of BPCR's strategy means periods of high undeployed cash. The manager remains confident of reinvesting the proceeds given the significant capital needs in the sector.



BPCR operates in an attractive area of the debt market where large dedicated lenders are absent. It invests in predominantly secured loans, with counterparties that have approved, commercial-stage products. 97% of BPCR's investments since launch have comprised senior corporate loans and senior royalty loans. Loans are typically structured to offer protection against cash drag from repayments in the form of prepayment fees and make-whole penalties.

This was demonstrated by BPCR’s ability to pay a special dividend last year, despite the high level of prepayments. Including the special dividend, BPCR paid total dividends in excess of 13 cents, representing a near 14% yield. We believe the company is well set to deliver further special dividends in 2023, with the ordinary dividend well covered and the portfolio currently generating an 11.7% gross yield, 270bps higher than this time last year. We view the current near 7% discount to NAV as particularly attractive, given the long-term track record of the manager and the strong discount control mechanisms in place (c.$52m of buybacks in 2022).
Biopharma Credit share price data is direct from the London Stock Exchange

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