Arbutus plans up to $230 million Dutch auction tender offer for common shares
The company said it intends to buy back stock at $5.00 to $5.75 per share, funded by cash on hand, with the offer expected to run late August through late September 2026.
Arbutus Biopharma Corporation announced on August 21, 2026 that it plans to launch a modified "Dutch Auction" tender offer to repurchase up to US$230 million of its common shares, with a per-share price set somewhere between US$5.00 and US$5.75, to be paid in cash minus any withholding taxes.1
The company said the offer is expected to open around August 24, 2026 and close around September 29, 2026, unless the company extends or ends it early.1 Arbutus said it expects to pay for the repurchase using cash it currently holds.1
CEO Lindsay Androski linked the buyback to a legal settlement, saying the March 2026 settlement with Moderna and the July 2026 initial payment under that settlement were milestones confirming that Arbutus' lipid nanoparticle technology inventions opened up a new field of nucleic acid based therapeutics.1 She added that Arbutus, together with its exclusive licensee Genevant, plans to continue pursuing infringement claims against Pfizer and BioNTech.1
The offer has not yet started. Arbutus said the offer depends on getting exemptive relief it has applied for under U.S. and Canadian securities laws covering a proportionate tender feature and certain extension requirements, and that it expects to begin the offer soon after that relief is granted.1
For process details, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC will act as dealer-manager for the offer.1 Meanwhile, Georgeson LLC is set to handle shareholder communications as information agent, and TSX Trust Company will serve as depositary once the offer proceeds.
The company also reiterated its business focus. Arbutus is developing imdusiran (AB-729) and an oral PD-L1 inhibitor called AB-101 for chronic HBV infection, and is supporting Genevant Sciences in ongoing patent litigation against Pfizer and BioNTech over COVID-19 vaccine technology.1
Written by readthrough’s AI from the linked primary sources and fact-checked against them automatically before publishing. Not investment advice.