Highly specialized healthcare diagnostics company Grail (GRAL -9.74%) passed muster on the stock exchange on the second-to-last trading day of the week. That was on the back of news that the company has found financial backers for a push into new markets. Ultimately the stock closed the day more than 14% in positive territory, contrasting well with the S&P 500 index's 0.6% slide.
110 million reasons to be bullish
Before market open, Grail divulged it has signed a binding letter of intent with two specialized units of Korean tech giant Samsung to bring a key product to Asian markets. The arrangement also includes an investment commitment.
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Specifically, Samsung C&T and Samsung Electronics will commercialize Grail's Galleri multicancer early detection (MCED) diagnostic products to certain countries on their native continent. This certainly includes Samsung's home of South Korea, while Japan and Singapore were mentioned as possible future targets for the product.
The two Samsung divisions will also together invest $110 million into Grail. They are paying $70.50 per each of the company's common shares for this, which would give the pair more than 1.56 million shares.
Expanding its footprint
In its press release trumpeting this potentially lucrative deal, Grail quoted its president of international business and biopharma, Harpal Kumar, as saying that the investment portion of it "strengthens our balance sheet and provides further cash runway as we advance through key milestones to secure reimbursement for Galleri in the U.S. and key international markets."
