WA pharmaceutical company PharmAust Ltd will sell discovery chemistry subsidiary Mimotopes Pty Ltd to US-based Commonwealth Biotechnologies Inc for a scrip consideration of between $8.6 and $10.6 million, 16 months after PharmAust acquired the company.
The completed offer will leave PharmAust with between 40 and 45 percent of shares in the NASDAQ-listed Commonwealth.
PharmAust managing director Paul D'Sylva said the deal would 'unlock shareholder value' by allowing Mimotopes better corporate proximity to its key markets.
This announcement comes one week after the companies signed an agreement to co-market their products - which Dr D'Sylva said would offer the industry a single-point of service for early stage drug discovery and development.
Below is the full announcement:
PharmAust Limited (ASX: PAA) has signed a Terms Sheet with U.S. based
Commonwealth Biotechnologies Inc. (NASDAQ: CBTE), that will see Commonwealth
Biotechnologies acquire PharmAust's wholly owned subsidiary company Mimotopes
Pty Ltd for a scrip consideration valued between AU$8.6mill and AU$10.6mill.
The Agreement is subject to the completion of a number of conditions precedent including
but not limited to the necessary regulatory approvals, due diligence and the execution of a
definitive agreement.
On completion of the transaction, PharmAust will hold between 40% and 45% of NASDAQ
listed Commonwealth Biotechnologies Inc.
PharmAust's Managing Director, Dr Paul D'Sylva said "that the Board of PharmAust
believes that this deal will unlock shareholder value by virtue of the better corporate
proximity of Mimotopes to its key markets, clients and partners and the excellent synergies
with CBTE's business."
About Commonwealth Biotechnologies Inc
Founded in 1992, Virginia-based Commonwealth Biotechnologies Incorporated (CBI) provides a
complete array of leading analytical and synthetic chemistry analysis technologies, many of which
are not available from other commercial sources. CBI serves 2,000 customers worldwide, including
biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, government agencies and academic institutions.
CBI's services include DNA analyses, Genomics, Proteomics, Biochemical Analysis, Mass Spec
Analysis, Microbiological Services, Pathogen Testing, Food Microbiology, Peptide Services and
Protein Sequencing and Drug Discovery. The company also has a DNA reference laboratory that
specializes in forensic genetic identity, molecular diagnostics and paternity testing.
About PharmAust Limited
PharmAust Limited is a vertically integrated pharmaceutical group of companies involved in a range
of activities from contract drug discovery and development to manufacturing, sales and marketing of
healthcare & pharmaceutical products. PharmAust wholly owns three operating subsidiary
companies:
PharmAust Manufacturing Pty Ltd manufactures and markets therapeutic and non-therapeutic
pharmaceutical products for Australian and overseas markets.
Epichem Pty Ltd provides contract chemistry services alongside its own intellectual property
generating research activities.
Mimotopes Pty Ltd provides products and services in discovery chemistry to the global
pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.
