Biotech, Hepatitis C, Finances

Vertex Turns $109M Debt Into Stock

Luke Timmerman 11/10/09

Vertex Pharmaceuticals, the Cambridge, MA-based developer of treatments for hepatitis C, said today that investors who hold about $109 million worth of debt securities have converted those holdings into equity stakes. The deal doesn’t leave Vertex debt free, because the company still has to pay back $35 million in principal, at a 4.75 percent interest rate, in 2013. The debtholders who are accepting stock will now get 4.8 million shares of Vertex (NASDAQ: VRTX). The company’s shares have more than doubled in value to $40.69 at today’s close, compared with the 52-week low of $19.87.

Luke Timmerman is the National Biotechnology Editor for Xconomy. You can e-mail him at ltimmerman@xconomy.com, call 206-624-2374, or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ldtimmerman.