Genuit Share Discussion Threads

[suahb] 31/1/2003 15:08

something going on here - lots and lots of big trades today and recent days too - come on, whats going on....

[suahb] 31/1/2003 15:08

something going on here - lots and lots of big trades today and recent days too - come on, whats going on....

[rambutan2] 10/1/2003 11:40

lead story in small times yesterday...

COMPANIES PUT THEIR MEMS TOGETHER TO DRUM UP MORE CUSTOMERS
By Matt Kelly
Small Times Correspondent

Jan. 9, 2003 – Four businesses have struck a partnership to offer unified MEMS product development, an effort to jump-start broader industrial interest in microtechnology.
– for those of you who dont know what MEMS are...
(MEMS: Microelectromechanical systems. A term primarily used in the United States, it refers to machines with moving parts smaller than a human hair that contain both electrical and mechanical components on silicon. Also referred to as Microsystems, microstructures, microstructure technology (MST) and mechatronics.)

The Generics Group, a product development firm based in England, crafted the deal with Coventor Inc., Epigem Ltd. and LioniX BV. Generics is the titular head of the partnership, called "MST-charged." (MST is the acronym used in Europe for MEMS.)

Peter Laitenberger, the Generics executive in charge of the partnership, said its main goal is to give customers an easier way to integrate MEMS into their various products. Generics and its partners hope to combine the design skills of Generics and Coventor with the fabrication resources of Epigem and LioniX so that customers can design MEMS-based products and then produce small amounts of prototypes to see how the idea actually works.

"It's difficult to find a company that can prototype a small number. ... Both [LioniX and Epigem] offer us that capability," Laitenberger said.

Retooling a chip fabrication plant to produce MEMS devices is often costly, so many fabs that produce MEMS prefer to work with large customer orders rather than a few prototype devices. That, Laitenberger said, has prompted companies interested in MEMS to pursue more traditional technologies that can result in a functioning product more quickly.

"At the moment ... not many microsystems actually make it through to market," Laitenberger said. "People just want a solution to their problem, whether it's MST or not."

Epigem was selected for its expertise in polymer-based electronics, which Laitenberger believes will play an increasingly important role in medical equipment. LioniX, based in the Netherlands, has expertise in optics and microfluidics, and has various clean room facilities suitable for small-scale fabrication. Coventor is known for its design software and MEMS-based RF switches.

Hans van den Vlekkert, chief executive of LioniX, said the partnership should be attractive to customers because they will no longer have to find separate design, development and fab experts on their own. "The alliance is a one-shop solution for companies looking for a complete MST solution for their products. ... It offers more than each individual partner could provide," he said.

Any improved deal flow from customers would also give Generics a much-needed financial boost; for the first six months of fiscal 2002, the company reported an operating loss of $13.5 million, compared to $9.2 million the year before. The other three companies are privately held.

But while the partnership seems sensible in theory, the real challenge for the four companies is to convince customers that MEMS are a worthwhile endeavor. Today's economic reality, analysts say, is that even with one-stop shopping, businesses simply don't want to do much shopping.

"I think the strategy is good; the problem is that the climate is very poor," said Eric Gulliksen, a MEMS analyst at Venture Development Corp. in Natick, Mass. "People don't want to do any design work that they don't have to." Gulliksen granted that MEMS technology has won over manufacturers in some niches, such as accelerometers and ink-jet nozzles. But, he said, "there are not a lot of those niches running around."

Chris Lumb, chief executive of Micralyne Inc. in Edmonton, Alberta, which also offers MEMS design and prototyping, agreed that a single point of contact "is hugely important to customers."

"It takes a lot of different inputs" to develop MEMS product ready for mass manufacture, Lumb said. "For a single company to do that is a difficult proposition." Lumb also said access to a small-scale fabrication plant to turn out small numbers of prototype MEMS products is crucial. Giants like Intel, Honeywell or Texas Instruments can churn out MEMS easily, he said, "but they're not interested in anything unless it's in large numbers."

[rambutan2] 10/1/2003 10:26

and heres a backdated one...

19 December 2002
Innovation management guru returns to Generics

A consultant with over 15 years' experience of managing innovation has returned to The Generics Group, the integrated technology consulting and development organisation based in Cambridge, UK. Dr Steve Bone has been an Innovation Management Consultant for over 15 years, during which time he has specialised in helping clients make the right technology investment decisions and build innovative and successful businesses.
Dr Bone was the UK Managing Director for Applied Value, a company that creates new value for clients by applying best practice to investment and turnaround. Previous roles include being the European Practice Leader for Arthur D. Little's Technology and Innovation Management Practice, a Director of Generics' Business Innovation Group, and a Partner with PA Consulting Group.
He is a recognised international thinker in the Strategic and Operational Management of Technology; he speaks frequently on the subject at international conferences and has had published many articles in respected business journals. These articles have covered topics from Core Competency Management to Innovation Management, Technology Strategy and Investing in Technology. Dr Bone's latest work is a chapter in the book: 'Business - The Ultimate Resource™' - published by Bloomsbury. This was book of the month in September 2002 (www.ultimatebusinessresource.com for more info).
Prior to being a consultant, Dr Bone was a Business Manager for Thorn EMI Electronics. He also has a 1st Class Honours Degree and PhD in Chemistry. On his return to Generics, Dr Bone said:
"Generics was the perfect match for my interest in technology and innovation management as well as performance improvement in technology-based industries. I am looking forward to contributing to the company's growth in 2003." – lets hope he does!

[rambutan2] 09/1/2003 00:56

was a cross trade, we'll have to wait and see who got the best of it!

by chance, i emailed the co yesterday and had a reply by this morning...

as a private shareholder of a not unsubstantial number of shares in the company (one of the very few!), i am concerned that not everything is being done to make investors aware of its existence and its range of activities. the most obvious (and surely easy and inexpensive) way of doing this is to start releasing at least some of the fairly frequent press releases which can be seen on GEN's and Catella's web sites over the LSE. these make good reading and show just what GEN may have to offer. investors of all sizes follow stock exchange announcements avidly and use them as a prime source of info and discussion. they dont visit the company site until they are hooked. GEN is not hooking any investors big or small and it needs to in order to get some interest and liquidity in the shares -
unless there is some other agenda going on?

yours faithfully


Thank you for getting in touch to voice your concerns.
 
As you will have seen from our website, we distributed well over 20 releases, in addition to our quarterly results, in 2002. We put the most significant stories out as RNS statements and ensure that the quarterlies summarise our other business highlights. I have put in the post for you a copy of the press cuttings that resulted from this activity in the last six months. If you like, I can also ensure that you receive our news releases by email in future.  

We are of course as frustrated as you by the lack of interest by the press in good news but we will certainly keep trying very hard to make sure that the value of our portfolio is well understood and recognised.
 
Please feel free to contact me again should you have further queries.
 
Kind regards
 
Ruth
 
Ruth Shaw
PR Manager

hmmm. well at least i got a prompt and polite reply and they now that they have at least one outside shareholder keeping an eye on them.

[dude luv] 08/1/2003 07:19

any thoughts about large late trade yesterday?

[dell314] 20/12/2002 13:42

In cash terms, that last director buy was too small to give me a good feeling.
I also think there may still be stock overhang, with no bounce at all from the recent drop. I've bought a few on the back of the BVCA and IP but won't go wild as I don't know enough background.
Also NMS at 10k doesn't help liquidity.

[rambutan2] 20/12/2002 13:35

my take on GEN is that it is both a consultancy company, with potentially good IP and a vc arm. the idea being that the first business will bring in cash flow while the latter two have the potential to add big value over time. the fund management bit is v small at the mo. however, just like most others GEN misjudged the extent and length of the global downturn and continued in their expansive phase for far too long. so, that tells us that the management isnt the best, like most others. it would be nice to have warrent buffett in charge but they are in short supply.
i spoke to the fd after the recent results and expressed my concerns. wasnt the most talkative chap but he made a bit of an effort. he still believes, as they keep stating on their results, that the consultancy business will soon be profitable. now, either they are fibbing and will soon be found out, the share price will drop another 50% and that will be that, or they are right. take your pick, but theyve got everything riding on being correct.
the vc business obviously has to wait for a pick up in the economies. but, he virtually said that the synaptics shares will be sold and that will raise $2m plus in the new year, and that money could also come from another company. enough to keep the vc business ticking over.
he also pointed out that the new building was worth a few million more than was on the books and that fund management had picked up a new contract with uk universities recently.
now, something that hasnt helped GEN on the LSE has been the big stake (49%) held by Catella (an investment arm of the IKEA empire). however, my take on it is that it is a good thing. i asked the fd whether Cat would step in if need be and help GEN out by some means or other. while he didnt say yes, he didnt say NO. having looked at their site (www.catella.se/holding - change into english by hitting the prompt in the bottom left corner) and their investment philosophy, i think it quite possible that they would help GEN out, as they do at the mo (i think, from what i see, although the fd said not) with landing contracts etc. by the way, i dont know why GEN dont release all their contract etc news to the LSE as there is always plenty of it and it usually looks good and would help with getting some interest.
my take on the mkt only taking a 6% prob that GEN will survive is that that is not really the case. the problem with GEN is that the shares have never really been freely traded on the LSE. they began with an institutional placing, and as the fd pointed out, the vast majority of the shares are still held by those institutions. whenever anyone has decided to get rid of a few the share price has collapsed because the mms know that there is no secondary mkt for them. the only sell that needed an rns was a director selling 0.9m (still holds 1m). the other drops have come on one other over 1m sell and a small number of 100 thou sells. from what ive seen with other cos, if the institutions really thought GEN was soon to fold they would get out at any price on the basis that 1p is better than 0p. the fd did say that the co was disappointed at the efforts of their advisors in this respect and was considering changes.
re the vc cos, out of £30+m BVCA valuation there has to be some value there, even if it gets much diluted on further fund raisings or private sells or whatever. there is also, of course, potential for great added value if one of them makes it.
so, at 6.5p (mkt cap £7m) i think GEN offers a good gamble which could offer a many multiple return. easily 10x in the relatively short term. buy 10K for under £700 and in a few years time it could be worth £10,000+. remember, the lack of traded shares works in reverse if there is some demand for them. while on the downside, whats left has to have some value for someone and would bring in something for shareholders. and in a worst case, well, it was an interesting co to follow!
now, im no insider, just an opportune investor with a decidley mixed track record over recent times. so, any comment etc is very welcome.

[rambutan2] 04/12/2002 10:01

and i thought it was cheap at twice the price, mkt cap now just £7m!!!!! there has to be more value than that left. the vc holdings are still valued (BVCA method) at over £30m. only a few shares sold yesterday. directors been buying recently. has a big sugar daddy in the form of Ikea...

[suahb] 03/12/2002 18:54

how do you know patrick?
Andy

[patrickairy] 03/12/2002 14:31

There was an institutional sell 0f 925,000 shares this morning. Business is basically sound and this is a good buy opportunity.

[patrickairy] 03/12/2002 14:29

Buy Buy Buy

[suahb] 03/12/2002 11:49

Anyone know a reason for the fall?

andy

[tony14] 03/12/2002 09:13

Judging by the buys at 5.7p, it would not be unreasonable to see a large sale reported later on. No doubt we will find out in due course.


Regards

[suahb] 03/12/2002 09:12

hi

tried to buy these through halifax and problems - any advice?

[pscambler] 03/12/2002 08:58

They need cash to survive and must be looking to

conserve, but at £13M 9 month loss and £13 mill in bank .........
raise thro' trade sale
raise thro' placing

can only be dilutive

suggest news i.e. rumour of failed attempts at 2 or 3 reached the mkt

[dell314] 03/12/2002 08:47

Had a quick look at their site and can't see any newsflow.
Unless there's a rumour doing the rounds, I can only assume a big holder wants to dump.

[tony14] 03/12/2002 08:39

Down 37% today already, any news/views out there?

Regards

[loss-leader] 24/11/2002 17:58

Both aspects of core business, namely technology consulting and spin off of ventures are WAY down due to appaling market conditions.

They will need to cut back even brutally on non esential staff to conserve cash. Their competitor Cambridge consultants is also pretty distressed (thanks to new owner Altran suffering poor shareholder entiment), competitor Technology PArtnership is weathering the storm somewhat better.

I would stay away until the consultancy is cash positive again.

[coverpoint] 21/11/2002 19:48

Peter Hyde has retired from Generics at least once, so I don't see this appointment as having any permanency. Anyway, Gordon Edge will always pull the strings, no matter who is appointed CEO.

[rambutan2] 16/11/2002 00:01

Hmmm, interesting...
The Generics Group AG ('Generics')
Directorate

The Board announces the resignation on 14 November 2002 of Duncan Hine as Chief
Executive Officer and a Director of Generics.

He is succeeded as Chief Executive Officer by Peter Hyde. The Board intends to
recommend the appointment of Dr Hyde as a director of Generics at the next
Annual General Meeting of the Company, in accordance with Swiss company law. Dr
Hyde joined Generics in 1988 and was appointed Chief Executive Officer of
Scientific Generics Limited in 1990. In March 2000 he stepped down from that
role to become Managing Director of Generics' Intellectual Property exploitation
company, Gentech Investment Management Limited. In June of this year he was
appointed to the role of Managing Director of Scientific Generics Limited and
has been instrumental in the improving performance of the consulting company
since then.

Generics confirms that there are no details requiring disclosure under
paragraphs 6.F.2 (b) to (g) of the Listing Rules of the Financial Services
Authority in respect of Dr Hyde.

Generics will announce its financial results for the third quarter to 30
September 2002 on 21st November 2002. The Board expects these results to be in
line with its expectations.

Commenting on these changes, Gordon Edge, Chairman of Generics, stated:

'The Board would like to put on record its appreciation of the efforts of Duncan
Hine since he joined the Group in April 2000 and wishes him well in pursuing his
future interests.

The Board is pleased that Peter Hyde, who has enjoyed considerable success in
managing Scientific Generics Limited, has taken up the appointment of Chief
Executive Officer and believes that he is the ideal candidate to replace Dr
Hine'.

[rambutan2] 24/9/2002 10:56

This guy has bought all the way down from 70p. Does he know something or is he a rubbish investor?

The Generics Group AG

On the 13 September 2002, Martin Forster, Company Secretary, informed the
Company that he has purchased an additional 50,000 shares of CHF 0.10 each
in Generics at 12 pence per share. His total holding of CHF 0.10 shares now
stands at 199,700 shares.

[rambutan2] 23/9/2002 16:38

V little trades since my last post. But this got a nice mention in the FT today. Nice example of GENs euro relationships. Shows they still prepared and able to invest money when an good opportunity arises. OK, its more blue sky but good quality blue sky.


News Release

23 September 2002


Siemens and Generics launch New Spin-out: Sphere Medical Ltd

Siemens Technology Accelerator ('STA'), an early seed phase venture creation arm
of the Siemens Corporate Technology department, and The Generics Group AG
('Generics'), the integrated technology consulting, development and investment
organisation, announce today the launch of their first joint spin-out company -
Sphere Medical Ltd ('Sphere').

Sphere has been founded to exploit commercially a micro-machined silicon sensing
technology originally developed by Siemens. This technology, which Sphere will
develop and manufacture, has applications in the field of blood gas analysis,
molecular diagnostics and environmental analysis.

The MEMS silicon sensing technology means that a number of separate chemical
sensors can be combined on a single silicon chip, along with integrated
electronic drive circuitry. This technology will enable a new generation of
diagnostic and analytical products that give real-time measurements at an
affordable cost, so reducing therapeutic decision times. Sphere now owns a total
of 17 patents that have been transferred from Siemens and Generics. In addition,
significant new IP has been acquired in the area of novel receptor technology.

The initial products will address the Euro1.4 billion per annum market for blood
parameter monitoring. Sphere has secured agreements with two multinationals with
strategic interests in marketing and distributing the products in this market.
Future products are planned for the emerging molecular diagnostics market that
is estimated to be Euro12 billion per annum by 2010. Potential opportunities have
been identified in cardiac care, hospital acquired infection, transfused blood
screening and in non-medical applications such as water quality.

On Friday 20 September, Sphere raised Euro525,000 in seed funding from STA and
Generics - Generics contributed Euro204,000 of the total - in order to transfer the
technology into the spin-out company and carry out early clinical trials. Fully
diluted shareholdings post round will be: Generics 29%, Siemens 46%, founders
25%.

The strong founding team for Sphere has been drawn from Generics, headed by Dr
Stuart Hendry, who has more than 15 years' experience in the blood gas analysis
and molecular diagnostics market. The company will initially be sited at
Generics' UK headquarters in Cambridge.

CEO of Sphere, Dr Stuart Hendry, said:

"This is an extremely exciting venture bringing together the strengths of
Siemens and Generics. Generics' strong track record of making new technology
commercially viable has been invaluable and our early success in signing
agreements with two global players has given our company a flying start. Sphere
will bring the advantages of mass sensor fabrication and extremely novel
receptor technology to create a whole new class of diagnostic devices previously
unavailable at such cost."

Generics' CEO, Duncan Hine, said:

"I am very excited about the prospects for Sphere Medical and encouraged by the
speed with which we have been able to work with Siemens to generate this
significant opportunity. We wish the new venture and founders every success for
the future."

Senior Director of Siemens Medical Solution, Dr Hartwig Ingwersen, said:

"With its innovative technology for blood parameter monitoring, Sphere is
uniquely positioned in the health care market. The power and experience of the
founders, together with the company's very attractive business plan, gives
Sphere an excellent chance of succeeding in its market."

--------------------------------------------ends--------------------------------



Notes for Editors:

The Generics Group

Generics is a leading integrated technology consulting, development and
investment organisation, with an international reputation for successfully
commercialising emerging science and technology.

Generics invests in and develops technologies that underpin the future of the
widest range of industries. Its key areas of expertise include: engineering,
materials, telecommunications, life sciences, business innovation and
electronics.

Generics' facilities include state-of-the-art laboratories and are located in
Europe in Cambridge, Frankfurt, Zurich, Switzerland and Stockholm, and in Boston
and Baltimore in the USA. Generics has over 250 employees, of which more than
half are high-calibre technology professionals.

SIEMENS - The Role of accelerators, incubators and venture capital

60,000 employees in research and development, R&D locations in over 30
countries, 6330 registered patents and 6.8 million euros invested in research in
2001 make Siemens one of the most innovative companies in the area of
electronics and electrical engineering.

Siemens' sustained innovation strategy includes support for young companies at
different stages of their development by providing targeted capital and
know-how. Three business units focus on the early seed phase: Siemens Technology
Accelerator, Munich, provides advice and support to companies that operate
outside the core areas of a Siemens business unit, to help them get established
or launched; Siemens Technology-To-Business Center in Berkeley, California,
supports radical innovations primarily outside Siemens with strategic importance
to Siemens to achieve maturity for market entry; Siemens Mobile Acceleration
GmbH (smac) specializes in supporting innovative business ideas in mobile
communications. Typically, it provides extensive coaching and initial financial
support for wireless start-ups during the seed phase before market entry.

Financing after the seed phase is the focus of Siemens Venture Capital (SVC). To
date it has invested over 500 million euros in more than 70 start-ups and 25
venture capital funds, particularly in the US, Europe and Israel. SVC focuses on
young, innovative companies that promise above-average returns and are engaged
in Siemens' strategic technology areas covered by the Information and
Communication, Automation, Medical Engineering and Energy segments. 14 of SVC's
portfolio companies are already listed on the NASDAQ or Germany's Neuer Markt.

More information:

Siemens Mobile Acceleration www.smac.siemens.com

Siemens Technology Accelerator www.sta.siemens.com

Siemens Technology-To-Business Center www.ttb.siemens.com

Siemens Venture Capital www.siemensventurecapital.com