Obesity Drug Maker Zealand Taps Investor Craze to Sell Stock (1)

Zealand Pharma A/S, a Danish developer of weight-loss drugs, raised 1.45 billion kroner ($213 million) by selling new shares to two unnamed investors, and said it will invest the proceeds in assets targeting obesity treatments.

The company sold stock in a private placement to a US-based life sciences investment firm and a global investment management company, according to a statement late on Monday. The sale of 3.76 million new shares equaled about 6% of Zealand’s current share capital.

Zealand is enjoying increased investor focus on weight-loss drugs following the success of its much larger Danish peer Novo Nordisk A/S ...