Piper Jaffray exits European securities
The leading European biotech underwriter Piper Jaffray will no longer be originating or distributing any European-listed securities as part of a restructuring of its European operations. The firm's chairman and CEO Andrew Duff said on its quarterly earnings call that the European business is not profitable and would "require significant additional investment to complete a build-out against a difficult market backdrop."
The firm will continue to sell U.S. and Asian securities to European institutional investors and provide M&A advisory services to European-based companies. Duff expects these operations will be profitable. Piper Jaffray will also invest further in Asia, particularly in China. Duff noted that so far this year, offerings for China-based companies account for 13% of the firm's global capital raised. ...