Ori Biotech hedges £100M venture capital fundraise with uncollateralised FX facility, saving $2.8M
The Business
VC backed Ori Biotech develops CGT technologies for cell therapies. The firm is headquartered in the UK with investors including Amadeus Capital Partners, Delin Ventures, Northpond Ventures, Octopus Ventures, Novalis LifeSciences, Puhua Capital and Chimera Abu Dhabi.
The Requirement
Ori Biotech’s $100M Series B financing round involved multiple, global investors deploying Dollar capital. Ori reports in Sterling and most expenses are GBP denominated. Both investors and the company required exchange rate certainty at deal stage through to close, 15 days later. Paying deposits or being exposed to variation margin calls during this window was an unattractive risk to Ori Biotech.
The Approach
We provided a zero IM, zero VM flexible forward facility for the short-term hedge, meaning no margin was required for the trade to be placed at Ballinger and no variation margin would be called during the lifetime of the trade. The facility allowed Ori Biotech to draw from the contract as each investor remitted funds. Any unforeseen delays in closing the round would be manageable by rolling the contract. Ballinger’s exposure to IM and VM was funded from the firm’s own capital and facilities.
The Result
At close, each investor remitted US Dollar to Ori Biotech’s named multi-currency IBAN issued by Ballinger, and the purchased Sterling was immediately remitted to Ori Biotech’s corporate account as each payment was received. When compared to remaining un-hedged across the two weeks, the Ballinger solution saved Ori Biotech $2.8M.
"Ballinger has been assisting Ori Biotech for some time now with smaller FX trades for our operational needs. During our Series B raise, the team at Ballinger has been on hand to advise how best to manage the currency exposure and deliver certainty on exchange rates for us and our investors. Responding to our needs and moving at pace as the deal progressed, Ballinger provided a zero collateral, flexible solution while also providing competitive exchange rates. Each tranche was settled to us immediately, despite our close taking place over Christmas."
Andrew Gawman
Global Finance Director, Ori Biotech