Codexis, which develops biocatalysts for manufacturing applications in the pharmaceuticals and biofuels industries, announced terms for its IPO on Wednesday. The Redwood City, CA-based company plans to raise $84 million by offering 6 million shares at a price range of $13-$15; at the mid-point of the proposed range, it will command a market value of $475 million. Codexis, which was founded in 2002 as a subsidiary of Maxygen, booked $83 million in sales last year, up 64% from 2008 ($50 million). The biofuels company transforms biocatalysts by "improving their commercially relevant characteristics, such as stability, activity, product yield and tolerance to industrial conditions," according to the SEC filing. It targets pharmaceutical companies, which can use Codexis' platform to boost manufacturing and commercialization processes, and the biofuels industry, which is expected to use the biocatalysts to convert biomass into biofuels. Codexis has strategic collaborations with Arch Pharmalabs and Shell. It had previously filed to go public in April of 2008 but withdrew the following September due to market conditions; the biofuels firm still plans to list on the NASDAQ under the symbol CDXS. Credit Suisse is the lead underwriter on the deal, for which timing was not disclosed.
