ADC Therapeutics (ADCT) stock jumps 12.78% on an $86.6 million PIPE and a debt reset, October 8, 2026

ADC Therapeutics stock rose 12.78% in the minute after its financing overhaul reached the MoveSurge news feed at 09:00:22 ET on Thursday, October 8, 2026, going from $1.33 to $1.50 in premarket trading. It closed the day at $1.59, up 11.97% from Wednesday's $1.42, which was also the price of the $86.6 million of new equity the company had just agreed to sell.

The share sale came with two amendments signed on October 7. HealthCare Royalty, which funds the company against royalties on its lymphoma drug Zynlonta, gave up a $150 million payment it was owed if ADC Therapeutics was ever sold, and the company's term lender, Blue Owl, took a $70 million prepayment in exchange for removing the loan's minimum-cash covenant and its amortization.

What changed on October 7 and 8

The equity comes from a private placement of 12.9 million shares and pre-funded warrants for another 48.1 million shares. Bain Capital Life Sciences is a new investor; Redmile, TCGX and Nantahala Capital already held the stock. The price matched Wednesday's close, so the buyers took no discount to the market price.

Most of the money goes to the lender

The company expects net proceeds of about $76.3 million, and $70 million of that is the prepayment to Blue Owl, so the cash balance hardly changes. ADC Therapeutics had $189.2 million at September 30 and puts the pro forma figure at about $196 million. Cash had fallen from $219.1 million at June 30, a drop of $29.9 million in the third quarter, and with no amortization due and a smaller principal the company now says its cash lasts into 2029. Shareholders took the dilution of 61 million new shares to replace $70 million of debt and a covenant that tightened as cash ran down.

The takeover payment, from $750 million to nothing

Until February the royalty agreement required a $750 million payment to HealthCare Royalty if the company changed hands. An amendment on February 23, 2026 cut it to $150 million through the end of 2027 and $200 million after, and HealthCare Royalty received warrants on about 9.8 million shares at $3.81 in return. The October amendment removes the payment altogether and reprices those warrants to $0.10; at Thursday's close their value above the new exercise price was about $14.6 million. HealthCare Royalty also lowered the cap on other debt the company may carry to $50 million. Under the February amendment, its royalties continue on an acquirer's Zynlonta sales until the original cap is reached.

The new test is Zynlonta's sales

Blue Owl replaced the cash floor with a sales test: trailing U.S. Zynlonta sales of at least $65 million, measured from the quarter ending December 31, 2026. Zynlonta net product revenue was $18.6 million in the second quarter, and four quarters at that level would come to about $74 million, roughly 14% above the threshold.

How the stock traded

Before the headline the stock was quoted at $1.33 in premarket trading, below Wednesday's close. One minute later it was at $1.50; ten minutes in it had eased to $1.45, 9.02% above the starting level, and fifteen minutes in it was back at $1.50. The regular session ended at $1.59. The MoveSurge news feed carried no further ADC Therapeutics headline that day.