Rigel sells IPO, plus shares to Novartis

RIGL raised $35 million through the sale of 5 million shares at $7 in its IPO underwritten by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter; Lehman Brothers; and Robertson Stephens. The deal has a 750,000-share overallotment. RIGL raised an additional $10 million in a private placement in which partner Novartis (SWX:NOVN; NVS) purchased 1.4 million RIGL shares at $7 each. Under the companies' 1999 deal, RIGL is using its functional genomics technology to identify and validate small molecule, orally active drug targets that mediate functions of B cells involved in autoimmune diseases. The purchase increases to 9.5 percent from 6 percent Novartis' percentage ownership in RIGL. ...