Arix Bioscience Share Discussion Threads

[frazboy] 04/11/2023 12:22

Hpcg - what doesn’t make sense, the share price action post deal announcement?

I see Peregrine added another 40,000 yesterday. He also seems to think Mr Market has got his valuation wrong.

[weatherman] 03/11/2023 20:42

Could there be a counter offer - if other IIs get together they would out vote the 25% of Acacia.

[cousin jack] 03/11/2023 17:42

I wonder how easy it would be to sell RTW shares if the deal went through as currently proposed. That’s quite a big red flag for me.

[ohisay] 03/11/2023 14:26

To be fair he's always been willing to put his hand in his pocket.

[hpcg] 03/11/2023 11:28

Because even with the offer as is there is swift 20% gain on offer. I hasten to add, my perspective is as a buyer around the lows and post lows, so its all gravy to me.

[frazboy] 03/11/2023 08:37

Didn't spot the decent NED share purchase in all the excitement. Wonder what his angle is!?

[reabank] 03/11/2023 07:50

There is a comment in the announcement that CMA doesn’t apply to this scheme of arrangement under the insolvency act. But as my above post maybe section 111 of the I A is an alternative way to block what seems like a unfair scheme? But to reiterate I’m not a lawyer.

[skyship] 03/11/2023 07:18

ohisay - many thanks for that. Seems pretty clear cut; so just how do they think they can get away with the travesty on the table!

We all now have something concrete with which to assail the company:

[e-mail]

[ohisay] 03/11/2023 06:32

Good spot on LSE...


Equality of treatment: An essential requirement of the City Code is that all holders of securities of a target company of the same class must be afforded equivalent treatment. This principle manifests itself in a number of different ways, including a requirement for (i) all information to be made equally available to all shareholders; (ii)comparable offers to be made for each class of equity share capital; and (iii) no special arrangements to be made with any particular target shareholders.

[ohisay] 03/11/2023 06:16

Peel Hunt has downgraded Arix Bioscience (ARIX) from ‘buy’ to ‘hold’ in response to RTW Biotech Opportunities’ (RTW ) proposal to acquire its assets, which analyst Miles Dixon believes is ‘opportunist’ and undervalues the shares.
Arix’s largest shareholder, Starboard Value-backed Acacia Research, has been offered much better terms by RTW, who will buy their whole 25.5% stake for about £47.2m, securing 1.7 times its share of Arix’s cash per the most recent NAV, Dixon said.

‘Somehow Acacia Research has co-opted RTW to help it “crack the Arix safe”’, he added.

The stuff of Animal Farm ? .
All shareholders are equal but some are more equal than others.!

[skyship] 02/11/2023 21:12

This proposal most likely breaches LSE Takeover Panel regs; if not, it certainly should!

We all need to start emailing the Company, the LSE & the Tske-over Panel (if it still exists - perhaps now wrapped up into the FCA).

Start with:

[e-mail]

[skyship] 02/11/2023 10:33

? - "and the value delivered now."

Sorry A-L-S, but are you a holder? If you were you would surely understand why we are all up in arms over such a proposed sell-out.

The proposed deal is no deal at all. It only delivers value to the 25% shareholder Acacia. It shafts all other holders.

[arthur_lame_stocks] 02/11/2023 10:16

I don't think the deal is actually that bad at the price it's being done at but maybe the markets reaction is more disappointment that ARIX isn't being wound up and the value delivered now.

[frazboy] 02/11/2023 09:58

So we're all pretty much agreed on the merits of the deal. But let's assume it goes ahead. Current price of RTW is $1.10. We get 1.46 shares per Arix share. Adjust for the exchange rate and you get £1.31 per share roughly, a significant premium to the current price.So, what are the risks? I guess the obvious one is a derating of RTWs equity (greater NAV discount) once the deal is approved, leaving Arix's shareholders back in a very similar position (albeit in a more diversified portfolio) to where they start except with less cash support (as a percentage of NAV). Is that the risk? I'm not sure what the current Arix share price is actually telling us.

[reabank] 01/11/2023 18:27

One thing that struck me. The deal is conditional on any Arix shareholders who exercise dissenter rights under section 111 of the insolvency act holding in aggregate not more than 2 percent of the share capital. Not a lawyer - don’t know what it means not giving advice. But interesting I thought.

[mr hangman] 01/11/2023 16:17

Totally agree VH, thanks for the offer RTW, but no thanks

[value hound] 01/11/2023 14:23

Agree with both - we should, as a minimum, get the same deal as Acacia - and if it's such a logical, complementary deal, RTW should have no probs whatsoever in raising the cash.

[skyship] 01/11/2023 14:03

As I posted back in July - P.No.551:

"Strategic Reviews are a total waste of time. Competent management should be reviewing the status quo on a regular basis - just routine.

What they should do is make a tender offer at a small discount to NAV so as to return the bulk of the cash to shareholders.

A 33.33% tender at 1.75p should be about right. Cost £79m v. current £101m cash."

[ohisay] 01/11/2023 13:52

I've done the same .
We should get the same deal as Acacia full stop.

[skyship] 01/11/2023 13:46

Bought back in at under 117p.

All to play for down at this level; as it is abundantly clear that this appalling deal cannot go through. Quite blatantly unfair to all shareholders other than Acacia.

Deal will have to be reworked with a cash alternative; or just ditched. The Board will then have to rethink. They've clearly shown they have no idea what to do with our cash - so we must all lobby hard that it be returned to shareholders via a Tender Offer.

[value hound] 01/11/2023 12:48

Simon T says hold out for an improved offer from RTW.

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- RTW offers 1.4633 shares for each Arix share
- RTW agrees to purchase 33mn Arix shares from Acacia Research at 143p

Arix Bioscience (ARIX:121p), a global venture capital company that holds a diversified portfolio of unlisted and listed investments in early-stage biotechnology businesses, has received a recommended all-share takeover bid from RTW Biotechnology Opportunities (RTW:89.6p and RTWG:$1.08).

RTW is a specialised life science investor with a 14-year track record and one that has delivered an annualised net return of 21.6 per cent since inception from its leading private fund. Managed by a team of 43 investment professionals, RTW adopts a science-led investment approach. The fund's net asset value (NAV) of $337mn is 19 per cent more than Arix’s NAV of $284mn. Combining the two funds will not only create a group with increased scale and a more diversified portfolio across both private and public assets, but it should improve the potential for a re-rating.

RTW has also agreed to purchase Acacia Research Corporation’s (US:ACTG) 25.5 per cent stake in Arix for 143p cash per share, a 20.5 per cent discount to Arix’s NAV of 180p on 30 September 2023. However, based on RTW’s latest share price (which fell 3 per cent following the announcement), the all-share offer is only worth 131p a share to other Arix’s shareholders, representing a 27 per cent discount to the group's latest NAV.

Moreover, Arix’s NAV of £232.4mn (180p) comprises cash of £106mn (82.1p), listed portfolio (£55.9mn, or 43.3p), unlisted portfolio (£67.6mn, or 52.3p) and other assets (£2.9mn, or 2.2p). The muted response to the offer – Arix’s shares edged up 2 per cent to 121p, a 10 per cent premium to the 110p entry point in my 2023 Bargain Shares Portfolio – is hardly surprising given that its cash and listed portfolio are worth 125.4p a share. RTW’s shares trade on a 33 per cent discount to NAV, too.

So, although I feel the combining of the two groups makes strategic sense, I would hold out for an improved offer from RTW. Hold.

[makinbuks] 01/11/2023 12:46

But I agree with sentiment here. This was not a strategic review on behalf of shareholders it was driven by the the majority holder who is taking the cash and running. What alternatives did they consider? Why not the tender we discussed using the cash, maybe a bit of realisation too, then sell to RTW or merge the remaining holdings