Biotech Company Jumps Into Houston Multifamily In Quest For Revenue Amid Stock Slide

Pennsylvania-based Windtree Therapeutics is an unlikely new entrant in the city's multifamily scene, purchasing a 436-unit property in Houston as it attempts to diversify its holdings.

The drug developer will pay Way Maker Growth Fund $43M for The Aubrey at 11755 Southlake Drive in Houston via WINT Real Estate, its wholly owned subsidiary. Windtree expects diversity and stability from these assets, CEO Jed Latkin said in a press release.

“By identifying opportunities to bring in stable revenue, we believe the Company can reduce its need for capital that could be dilutive to the stock price,” Latkin said.

The real estate acquisition follows the company hitting a new low stock price in January, when Windtree Therapeutics announced a strategy to acquire smaller companies and stop its stock slide. 

The apartment complex purchase aligns with the company’s strategy to generate revenue while it develops new drug candidates, the Philadelphia Business Journal reported. The company develops early and late-stage innovative therapies for critical conditions and diseases, including cardiogenic shock, heart failure and cancer.

Windtree’s purchase is contingent on due diligence and finalization of financing, with closing planned for May 23, according to the release. The acquisition is expected to be funded primarily with nonrecourse debt, according to an SEC filing. The remaining purchase price will come from stock proceeds, the filing states.

The Aubrey is a Class-B, 46-building apartment complex valued at $35M this year, according to Harris Central Appraisal District records.

While Latkin called the investment a stable revenue opportunity, Houston’s multifamily market has been anything but in recent years. Nearly $400M worth of multifamily properties were scheduled to appear at a Harris County foreclosure auction late last year.