Bionex Share Discussion Threads

[old boy returns] 16/10/2003 23:09

Re the cash position question. Having read the interims I am sure that the shoprt term investment in shares referred to took place duirng the reporting period (rather than after) and is represented by the £80K of current asset investments in the balance sheet. So it would seem the £1M of cash is still in the bank unless they have since invested further.

[rivaldo] 16/10/2003 20:24

Optimist, I took that extract to refer to the "Current asset investments" of £80k - these were separate from the £1m of cash, although of course this may have changed since 31st March. With the rise in the bio/health sectors they have hopefully achieved a bit of extra profit for us in the meantime.

Things are looking bright for the portfolio as a whole, let alone for Ark. Morphochem have just announced new Board appointments:


New appointments prepare Morphochem for cancer product development
October 16, 2003
Extract:
"Dr Thomas Hecht added, "I have been aware of Morphochem's 'smart chemistry' and have followed the Company's progress for quite some time. I welcome the opportunity to help Morphochem advance its small molecule, natural-like and natural compounds for the treatment of cancer from their various discovery stages, including late stage pre-clinical, into the clinical pipeline."

And this is Biovex's recent announcement:

Press Release 06/10/03
BIOVEX COMPLETES £17 MILLION SERIES C FINANCING
Oxford 6th October 2003 - BioVex Limited, a leading company developing new generation vaccines for the treatment and prevention of cancer and chronic infectious disease, announced today the completion of a £17 million ($28m) private placement.

[optimist at large] 16/10/2003 18:10

rivaldo

I suspect that some of today's sellers may be unaware of the Ark story and after months of inaction sold into the rise in price and demand.

With regard to the cash the interim statement for the half year to 31st March published in June said:

"The company has acquired some shares in quoted companies, in the biotech sector, with a view to relatively short term investment.

At the end of the period the company had cash reserves of #1,007,000 and is well
placed to take advantage of investment opportunities - several of which have
been carefully reviewed by the Board during the period. However, in the current
difficult business climate, your Board is adopting a conservative approach to
new investment preferring to hold cash in reserve for follow on investment in
the current portfolio rather than invest in new situations where the exit
strategy is not apparent. If the right proposition comes along then we are
prepared to invest but until there is an upturn in the IPO market for biotech
companies we will remain very cautious."

I formed the impression that if the whole of the £1m is not in cash then it is in "short term investments in quoted companies" being traded for short term profit rather than as additional long term investments.

However, I may be wrong and/or the present situation is different.

[rivaldo] 16/10/2003 17:21

Thanks for that Optimist. Did you garner any other useful info - for example, do they still have the £1m cash?

Bit of a rollercoaster day - 12.4m shares traded, so quite a few willing sellers around. Still, if word spreads, or there's more publicity about the holding in Ark, I can see this going to 2p fairly easily - this would be a market cap of £3.1m, only a bit more than the £1m cash and £1.6m invested in Ark with nothing for anything else or any uplift from Ark.

[optimist at large] 16/10/2003 13:43

I share some of russianlinesman's concerns, however:

I found Chris Roberts at Bionex quite easy to contact and talk to recently. My impression was that Bionex still have the unlisted holdings transferred from Mountcashel/Abingdon.

The recent appointment of Gavin Casey, formerly Chief Executive of the London Stock Exchange to join the Board of Corporate Synergy as Chairman also suggests that the management of the related companies is perhaps becoming more 'trustworthy'.

[rivaldo] 16/10/2003 13:24

Many thx rl, good comments as usual.

Can't disagree with most of what you say. However, my focus is on the investments and the scientific bods/advisers, and these seem to me to be of a high quality, in particular Ark, Avidex and Biovex. Plus the downside seems limited given the £1m in cash and the very low operating expenses (to date anyway).

Have a look at this from Ark:



Report Ranks Ark's Scientists Amongst World Leaders In Cardiovascular Gene Therapy
London, UK, 15 August 2003:

Also, IMO I'm pretty sure BNX still have the Ark stake. If they didn't they'd probably have had to put out an RNS given their tiny market cap.

[russianlinesman] 16/10/2003 12:46

PS rivaldo - as far as my research took me, there is no website for bionex, in keeping with their general appraoch to shareholder information.

see you back on PDT where none of the above concerns apply.

[russianlinesman] 16/10/2003 12:44

used to own through Mountcashel (Ark) hence have followed for ages. Sold my stake some time ago in protest against rubbish shareholder information. Also management/shareholders of Bionex have invested largely in companies owned or operated by same people (check out all the websites rivaldo kindly posted and look at the management), which I just don't like having lost money this way in the past.

Also, as I recall the unlisted NAV was only about 2.5mil, so that's not much spread about the rest of the portfolio. I only point this out because it led me to wonder whether they still owned their entire Ark stake. I once asked MCL management whether they still owned Ark and they refused to tell me since this would put me at an unfair advantage to other shareholders.

The AIM prospectus was a long time ago and the interims in June did not list company stakes so I wouldn't be so sure that Bionex owns their full stake still, unless somebody from Bionex tells you so.

Finally, be aware that the valuation talked of for Ark was not achieved last time the float was pulled, so no guarantee that this will get away.

Of course if it rises to 5p I will be pead off as this was why I held (and sat on losses) at MCL for such a long time, but I guess at the end of the day trust is important for me, and I don't trust management of Bionex.

All the best to you all, but go in with your eyes open.

[rivaldo] 16/10/2003 12:19

Elevator going up....

Nice article in the FT today about IP2IPO, but also mentioning Ark in an IPO context:

[rivaldo] 16/10/2003 11:34

Yep, over 7m shares traded already. With only 158m in issue any sellers should be out of ammunition soon. Nice rise already, but more to come maybe.

[optimist at large] 16/10/2003 10:12

I'm optimistic by nature but the rise was a little faster than I expected. The volume so far today is far higher than I have previously seen apart from a few very large individual trades earlier this year.

[optimist at large] 16/10/2003 08:58

+24% lift off

[optimist at large] 16/10/2003 08:53

up 7%, looking good

[optimist at large] 16/10/2003 08:37

rivaldo

My initial holding came via Mountcashel/Abingdon but I have been adding on the dips for some time. You can usually buy at or close to the mid but I think that this will change soon when the ARC float firms up.

In January the shares started trading at 3.25p, given the change in market sentiment since then the present price must be a steal.

The full year results, to the 30th September should not be long delayed.

[rivaldo] 16/10/2003 08:18

Hi optimist, yes, t'was me (your info sparked me into action, as I'd been watching for an entry point for a while).

Hope you're in already. With Ark newsflow do you agree that this could be a one or two bagger in very quick time (and maybe more)?

[optimist at large] 15/10/2003 20:03

rivaldo - were the 500,000 at 1.05p this morning yours?

If the Ark listing is at £140m (I would expect more now) the BNX stake would be worth almost £4.0 or about 2.5 times the present market cap.

The Ark press release today certainly ties in with the idea of a float.

[rivaldo] 15/10/2003 19:42

Here's a link to one of the articles in 2002 detailing Ark's plans to float - note the £140m valuation:



Ark Therapeutics plans £140m London listing
By Richard Fletcher (Filed: 07/04/2002)

[rivaldo] 15/10/2003 16:36

Good find Optimist - but I trump it with this one from today's Evening Standard!

I've been busy with this one today, and if Simon doesn't mind I'll start a new thread with a catchier ramp-style title!



"Ark revives flotation plan
Malcolm Withers, Evening Standard
15 October 2003

BRITAIN'S biggest privately owned biotech group Ark Therapeutics has revived plans for a London stock market flotation* after pulling out of a £140m float over a year ago.

Ark, which has a device for treating ulcers and is developing treatments for malignant brain tumours, hopes to come back to the market to raise up to £40m in cash. Market sources say it is in talks with advisers West LB Panmure and Nomura Securities.

Ark's last float attempt was abandoned 16 months ago after a sudden deterioration in stock markets.

Ark chief executive Nigel Parker then blamed the 'whole sentiment in the market', saying: 'We decided it was unwise to go ahead.'

There have since been no biotech flotations, though other pulled floats have been revived - including Punch Taverns and Yell!

There have also been recent signs of an upturn in new listing activity. Tomorrow intellectual property group I2IPO* starts trading and later this week, despite a float clouded by a lawsuit, Wolfson Electronics is due to be priced, with its shares likely to start trading next week.

The upturn in IPO activity coincides with the sudden pick-up in the stock market's fortunes. Since the end of the Iraq war the market has risen more than 1100 points to close last night at 4331.9, only 30 points off 2003 highs reached earlier this week.

RHM, the former Rank Hovis McDougall, DIY chain Focus Wickes and Irish drinks group Cantrell & Cochrane are all believed to be waiting on the sidelines."

[optimist at large] 15/10/2003 09:50

Interesting press release from Ark Therapeutics today. From memory BNX holds about 3.0% of ARC and this news could brink an Arc IPO closer.

[snape] 13/8/2003 13:57

Anyone know what BNX's main holdings are or a website address?
Ta

[ytaxidis] 13/8/2003 00:25

added more, why the drop?

[james111] 11/8/2003 21:28

Phil guess we are the only buyers today i took 200k