Gw Pharmaceuticals Share Discussion Threads

[etarip] 26/10/2016 16:30

nasdaqpat:

TD Direct Investing will deal in GWPH.
See
www.tddirectinvesting.co.uk/~/media/uk/pdf/pension-trading-account-permitted-investment-schedule.ashx

The list includes NASDAQ and I have had a telephone conversation in which they say that includes GWPH ADRs.

[nasdaqpat] 26/10/2016 16:08

Just opened an account with TD Waterhouse who say they can only deal in the primary (AIM) listing so unable to Buy the ADRs (GWPH)...this is getting ridiculous.

[etarip] 26/10/2016 15:57

masingi:

Be aware that TDI ask for a lot of documents. I am transferring to them. To speed things up ask on the phone what they require before you send in your application and send it in all together. You may also need a US Securities form W-8BEN-E. Also set up a US dollar account so you can sell eventually and not have TDI convert the proceeds into pounds at a disadvantaged exchange rate.

[masingi] 26/10/2016 15:00

Well I'm now looking at moving my SIPP to TD Direct (many thanks for the tip) buying back and then converting to ADRs. I've got to be damnably quick about it, though!

I can't help but wonder if there is something else behind it given the unseemly haste. A condition of a big investor? The buy-out rumour? I feel there would need to be something big in the offing to warrant causing such disruption. I don't believe GWP's advisors are so naïve that they did not know the turmoil it would cause.

[cauchmer] 26/10/2016 14:48

No thanks whatsoever to Justin/Geoffrey for putting us in this position of uncertainty, but:

It looks like each day will now start with a morning of UK sell-offs - force majure - because the company hasn't sorted out satisfactory transition arrangements with brokers for those of us holding in ISAs or Sipps.

But that may be creating an arbitrage buying opportunity for any bold enough for a cheaper back-door way into holding US dollar ADRs in the longer term.

I don't think I'm alone in my resentment of Justin, sitting pretty in La Jolla, CA.

[masingi] 26/10/2016 13:09

Taking investment advice from a stoner can damage your wealth.

[future financier] 26/10/2016 08:17

What a farce - you would have thought that the Board (including the non exec who used to be in Corporate Finance) would have investigated this thoroughly (including discussions with the main on-line brokers) before they decided to do this.

I agree entirely with etarip - but then would there be any real benefit if the de-listing was just delayed by say 3 months?

[masingi] 26/10/2016 05:51

See below. Standard life have changed their minds. I can't hold GWP NASDAQ shares in my SIPP any more.

News about a Corporate Action

This email is for information only

You have clients invested in GW PHARMACEUTICALS (the Company) under code
GWP.LN.. You can see which of your clients hold shares in the stock by
generating a total holdings report from Client Base/Reports.

WHAT’S HAPPENED

The Company has announced the intention to cancel the admission of its
0.1 pence ordinary shares (Ordinary Shares) to trading on AIM on 5
December, 2016. The last day of trading on AIM will be 2 December, 2016.


GW Pharmaceuticals will retain its U.S. listing on the NASDAQ Stock
Exchange of American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) under ticker symbol
GWPH.

WHAT THIS MEANS

You will be able to deal in the stock in the normal manner up until 25
NOVEMBER 2016, at which point if your client(s) are still invested we
will sell down their holding in the stock as we are unable to support
the delisted security on the Wrap Platform.

NB.

THE COMPANY ARE OFFERING UK HOLDERS THE OPPORTUNITY TO CONVERT THEIR
HOLDING TO THE ADR SECURITY HELD ON THE NASDAQ. TO CONVERT TO THE ADR
SECURITY A DTC PARTICIPANT ACCOUNT IS REQUIRED, STANDARD LIFE DO NOT
FACILITATE SECURITIES HELD WITHIN DTC.

TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE OPTION TO CONVERT, HOLDERS ARE REQUIRED TO
REREGISTER THEIR HOLDING IN THEIR OWN NAME AND PURSUE WITH THE GW
PHARMACEUTICALS DIRECTLY. FULL INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND IN THE BELOW
DOCUMENT.

[thecrock] 26/10/2016 00:05

British Sugar has signed a long-term contract to supply a non-psychoactive variety of cannabis plants in Norfolk to GW Pharmaceuticals. The first seedlings will be planted in January 2017 and there will be three crops a year, with the first harvest in April. This will provide enough raw crop a year to treat 40,000 children globally with the experimental treatment called Epidiolex.

'GW plans to file the drug with US regulators in the first half of 2017 and chief executive Justin Gover hopes that the treatment could be on the US market by the end of next year, with a European launch following shortly thereafter.

Accordingly, the company has been ramping up production and manufacturing and expanding its commercial sales force.'

[etarip] 25/10/2016 17:58

Nodding:
GWP may not have thought through the implications for those of us for whom this has created problems. Is there any reason technical why they could not even this late date extend the date for conversion beyond December 2?

Has any one spoken to the Board about this situation?

[ih_406638] 25/10/2016 13:34

123, consider me to be slightly moist.

Converting ord shares to ADRs is not a CGT event in itself. Shares leaving an ISA or other tax friendly vehicle, is not a CGT event.

If this BB is any indication, there are a lot shares in ISAs etc, and as such, are not likely to be traded. GW's view that AiM shares are illiquid is probably right. I also think that GW are in part responsible for the illiquidity. The formation of ADRs has always been one-way, ie an ADR is never unbundled and the ord shares returned to AiM. No new AiM listed shares were issued in any money raising exercise. One might conclude that GW could see the delisting situation as a real possibility from the day they listed on the Nasdaq (or before!). They could have given us more time.

[masingi] 25/10/2016 13:09

FF,
I think if you hold the shares privately you can transfer the shares using GWP's route without triggering CGT.

If you hold the shares in a vehicle such as Barclays Marketmaster, CGT doesn't apply until the cash is taken out of the Marketmaster account. However, with Marketmaster you have to sell-and-buy and suffer the charges and commission.

It is a major butt-pain, a shambles and a right kick in the teeth. I don't see how the UK-listed share price won't collapse as shares held in (for example) ISAs are forced to sell. There must be a lot of those! Who's going to buy them?

[future financier] 25/10/2016 12:18

"Any thoughts?" - yes - it is looking like a massive fiasco that is going to cost us long standing PIs a packet - but I still hold out some hope that TD will come up with a no cost solution (as I watch squadrons of porkies flying past my window).

And if you hold the shares in a simple (non SIPP or ISA) private account, would a sale and then purchase of ADRs trigger CGT - my guess is YES.

[masingi] 25/10/2016 11:31

I suspect the AIM share is going to take a mahoosive hit if more broker products insist on the shares being sold and then bought-back on NASDAQ. Or simply just sold if it's an ISA as you're not allowed to hold the ADRs full-stop. For info: mine were held in Barclays investment ISA and Market-master and SIPP accounts. Happy days if you're a banker!

It might be best for me to buy ORD shares back as a private purchase through a broker, rather than through the Marketmaster product and then use the GWP route to convert to ADR's. I might be able to pick them up quite cheaply in the next week, or two. I loose all tax advantages, though.

Any thoughts?

[masingi] 25/10/2016 11:17

I spoke to Barclays and Standard Life (same thing, really). They say I can hold NASDAQ dollar denominated shares in a SIPP. There are commission charges and a foreign exchange conversion fee of 1.5%, however.

I've had to sell my UK listed shares and will buy back in as the only route allowed. It seems the share transfer thing that GWP have circulated doesn't take into account the broker's pound of flesh.

[123prezzie] 25/10/2016 10:44

cauchmer. Mine are in my ISA which means sale is unavoidable - see posts last week. In Feb 2016 I did a report on GW's accounts (not their investment merits) for the UK Shareholders' Association. My comments included "...my impression is that the company is starting to regard shareholders as a nuisance..." and "...we could conclude that either the products or the company are being fattened up for sale." I was also critical of the directors' pay/perks and forecast the fundraise in the spring. These comments went down like a lead balloon amongst those people on this site who read them, but I think events give me a little more support.

As things stand, it seems likely that the price will continue to drift down until 2 Dec as UK sellers outnumber US buyers. I have taken the risk of selling my complete holding from my ISA and will buy back one third into my ordinary account later in November if no takeover intervenes. If a buyer appears, good luck to the rest of you. My problem now is to find enough BPR allowable stocks which I don't already hold to absorb the ISA cash. Weep for me.

[cauchmer] 25/10/2016 09:50

I have a substantial part of my Sipp in GWP.L, held by AJ Bell. Today they've written to me to say that they have not decided whether the dollar ADRs will be eligible to be held with them in my Sipp. I believe Hargreaves are similarly uncertain. This is certainly disturbing news for many of us very long-term UK shareholders. I certainly wouldn't want the inconvenience that seems to be threatened. NOT impressed, Justin!

[zlotini] 24/10/2016 20:29

The problem with rumoured takeovers, I think, is how much weight, if any, to place on what often turns out to be speculation fuelled by a player seeking an unfair advantage. Today’s AT&T takeover offer for Time Warner is a reminder that takeover noise swirling in the market can be spot on. Can there be smoke without fire? Yes.

With regards to GWP, it does seem odd that a few predators are ready to pounce. If GWP were already a takeover target, then it seemingly would make more sense that others would want to strike.

I have made a feeble attempt to see if the takeover talk about GWP generated excess trading volumes on Nasdaq. But I find I am totally overwhelmed by the sheer number of shares traded on even normal days without takeover speculation driving the trades.

At this stage, I place no premium on the share price because of takeover rumours. That is not to say the market does not. Does anyone know? Any premium that arose because of a takeover offer would be viewed by me as an unexpected huge bonus.

I am incapable of placing/working out a realistic fundamental value for GWP shares - I have not done my homework and, anyway, would probably be incapable of doing it. I presently rely on the thread, articles and analysts’ research to provide guidance on the company’s prospects and its share price.

It seems to me that GWP shares are still attractively priced even if the market has built a significant takeover premium, which I doubt, into the share price.

[ih_406638] 24/10/2016 19:47

Thanks for your thoughts zlotini.

IMO the price weakness is due to people thinking there will be no takeover until the ADR conversion period is over. A wrong view. Also, the absence of any news on the takeover approach must weigh on the expectations of the short termers.

Is it normal for two or more suitor companies to approach the target company at the same time? They can hardly be acting in concert, so why are they together?

[zlotini] 24/10/2016 18:43

nodding it is interesting to see that the last day GWP shares, December 2, can be traded on Aim is the same day Q1 results were released last year. Management may want to take use the results presentation (likely to around December 2) as an opportunity to extol the virtues of having only a primary Nasdaq listing. Perhaps, this, or some other factor, has motivated/blinded GWP to give too short notice to certain shareholders who want to arrange timeously that their financial affairs remain highly tax efficient once the Aim listing ends. Oddly, the share price has suffered from a bout of pronounced weakness since the announcement that a new share structure will be in place shortly.

I agree with Wenger that the sole listing on Nasdaq is not to facilitate an imminent takeover of GWP, although it would have that affect if it were ever taken over. I am not expecting any noise from management on Q1 results day about the rumoured long-line of predators waiting to pounce. If any first contact, or should I say first contacts, has/have been made, they are likely to be weak, given the cone of silence surrounding management.

Perhaps, the journalist who alerted the investing world about the burgeoning takeover interest in GWP was confused by the signals emitting from his impeccable sources. There is always the distinct possibility that GWP is talking to various parties about joint venture funding for the development of a particular product. Yet to see confirmation that GWP has specifically appointed a M&A advisor.

[etarip] 24/10/2016 10:37

For anyone interested in a TDI’s Brokers Pension Account for a SSAS or SIPP, you can find the application form via www.tddirectinvesting.co.uk . When logged in to the public site you will see Useful Forms right at the top of the page. Click on Useful Forms and then Account Opening, you will then see the form. There is also a form showing that you can invest in shares on the NASDAQ.

Thanks 123Prezzie for the pointing me in their direction.

[thecrock] 21/10/2016 18:57

I'm unsure what I will do with my shares....however shorter term the dollar could weaken against the pound in the next 6/12 months to £1=$1.40 or we may see parity!
I bought in @ 50p for my ISA.... sold a trance at £6.50 and now the share price is north of £8....is it time to sell out and take a healthy profit or follow GWP across the pond?

[123prezzie] 21/10/2016 17:43

nodding. I think the most serious question of all is "What happens after Dec 2 to the best b/b in the UK market?" I don't post much (years ago I used to be Stanhouse) but I read it all.

etarip. Yes, TD allow you to have cash accounts in several currencies. You can transfer in dollars, euros etc from anywhere but payments out need to be to a (dollar/euro/etc) UK bank account in your name.