Case Study: IONIS achieves a 12.35‑acre consolidated life‑sciences campus and low‑cash, inflation‑protected financing with Cresa

IONIS - Customer Case Study

IONIS, a San Diego–based life sciences company, faced expiring facility leases and sought to consolidate operations into a single site that would reflect its culture, support growth, and combine office and specialized lab space for drug development. Cresa was engaged to provide Transaction Management and Capital Markets services, researching existing properties and land parcels and identifying financing alternatives to minimize cash outlay while maintaining long-term control and hedging inflation risk.

Cresa negotiated and secured the purchase of 12.35 acres to enable development of a 537,966 sq. ft. facility and Cresa Capital Markets delivered a financing strategy that minimized upfront cash, secured attractive rates despite IONIS not yet being profitable, and identified a financing partner that provided the lowest cost of capital and assurance of funding. Cresa also negotiated favorable lease provisions—inflation hedges, rent escalations and pre‑negotiated purchase options—and worked with auditors to structure the arrangement as an operating lease with flexibility should accounting rules change.

IONIS