Roundtable Discussion; The Future of Mineral Sands. Watch the video here.
My guess is that the delay in concluding negotiations with BiVictrix was due to the BoD seeking a special sweetheart deal for themselves. These are the same despicable people who treated the Company like a cash cow, rather than bringing Iclaprim to market, where it could have been of considerable benefit to sick people across the world.
The Italian is right - this is a simple matter of principle. It is simply insulting, for them to expect us to vote in favour of their greed.
I'm guessing that BiVictrix are a decent bunch, but Iclaprim still seems to me to be a better prospect than their delivery platform - its development is much more advanced. It would be foolish to abandon it now.
I can imagine that a major Pharma may wish to acquire it, to complete the final stages to bring it to market, possibly offering a share in the eventual revenue in return. Could be big.
This is the link to the proxy voting form - for IG members, who need to complete & send it to IG, enclosing their acct details, date/location of the EGM. IG will vote on their behalf. Other platforms have their own arrangements.
1m shares have just voted against.
https://www.motifbio.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Motif-Bio-Plc-Form-of-Proxy-26.5.2021.pdf
If the RTO goes through on these disadvantageous terms, then effectively we are giving up our rights to any revenue stream from sales of Iclaprim.
It's worth remembering that the only other antibiotic of its class - Trimethoprim - has sold £millions world-wide, both in human & veterinary medicine (Lumsden's interest). Both can be hepatotoxic, but this has not impeded Trimethoprim. Of the two, Iclaprim is a more effective agent, so does not need to be combined with a sulphonamide (which can cause skin rashes & other side-effects). It is also effective against MRSA .
In the right hands Iclaprim could become a best-selling broad-spectrum antibiotics and my guess is that an interested party will come along, and purchase our residual interest from BiVictrix, for a fairly paltry sum, who will use it to further develop their drug-delivery platform.
Good luck to BiVictrix with their platform, but they have a mountain to climb. I may be wrong, but I cannot think of any general-purpose intracellular drug-delivery system that has yet made it successfully to market. The Holy Grail of pharmacology.
It seems to me that, if we do not vote strenuously against this RTO, we are giving up our interest in Iclaprim, for no financial return. If the offer had been more generous it might be a different matter.
Iclaprim still has value, and It would be the final irony if the rights to it were bought up, and generated £millions for its new owner!
This share was always high-risk, so I guess I can't complain. I look on it as a write-off. But the BoD behaved disgracefully towards all LTH's - their greediness was only matched by their incompetence.
So there's no way I can vote for them to enrich themselves yet again, with preferential warrants & options. A nice little deal they arranged for themselves, and stuff the LTH's.
Well, stuff them!
Agreed - with a 220:1 consolidation, and only 1 Warrant per 2 consolidated shares, the new board is clearly signalling that it is not particularly interested in doing anything for existing LTH's. This may be a mistake when it comes to future fund-raising.
On the plus side, the Co clearly has a dynamic CEO who (unlike GL) obv. knows her business & has a track record in attracting investment. Clearly their confidence is based on their "promising animal data', which does not yet seem to have been published. So maybe a ramping RNS to come.
Copper is highly regarded in Ayurvedic medicine - should sell well in India, once it is introduced to the market.
Might be the deteriorating US/Russia situation. Posted on this yesterday and people were pretty reassuring, so I won't flog it - but, put bluntly, investors may pause to think a bit, if Biden ever starts to talk about sanctions. Who wouldn't?
Anybody following the Russia/Ukraine situation? Growing concern in the German media about a possible conflict brewing up....unlike last time, there are EU/US troops now stationed out there.
Pd & other mineral exports were not included in the Russian sanctions last time, & prices held up pretty well.
Good to see so many SH's voting to support the BoD's proposal - the BoD have always shown solidarity with private investors, and a RI is much less damaging to the SP than a placing would be. In fact, if you assume that the shares on offer will be pitched around a 20-30% discount, the effect, spread around all existing shares, would be to reduce the SP by only 2-3% - we have been seeing fluctuations of this type in daily trading, so no biggie.
Hopefully many will now be topping up, to secure their rights.
Rosgeo will have been pleased to have now found a taker for their mineral holdings in the area. From their side they get it mined at no expense to themselves, and a pretty-much guaranteed income flow. The sort of deal which EUA might have entertained for its own assets, if a purchaser had ever come along. Still time for a mystery bidder to step forward, but it doesn't look too hopeful, IMO.
A smart move from EUA to support a Russian state entity in this fashion, which will not have gone unobserved, and hopefully will smooth its path in future. However, such relationships come with strings attached, and Rosgeo will be looking to get those minerals mined, as soon as the fund-raising is completed. This is also in our interests, since mining our own assets maximises the return to shareholders.
The BoD have not shown much enthusiasm in becoming major mining operators so far - a year has been wasted by the FSP - and the market will need to be convinced that they are now in earnest. However, a successful RI should be the first step in a positive news flow, which propels the SP higher.
It seems the market is showing some approval for the forthcoming rights issue, and commencement of open-caste mining. In retrospect, I don't think the major institutions have ever been sold on the idea of an open sale - they tend not to happen - which I guess has been holding back the SP, with concern about the inevitable placing which has to happen before mining can commence.
A rights issue is the most investor-friendly method for achieving the placing. After mining begins, a flow of positive news should drive the SP higher.
The market reaction should serve as a salutary reminder for any bidder that may still be circling this valuable asset - the FSP is nearly over. Thereafter the Mcap goes up considerably.
I personally don't buy into the type surrounding these obscure Japanese/Tatar gentlemen - hopefully I am wrong, but IMO this is aimed at the Chinese, who compete with the Japs for auto sales around the Pacific basin & beyond. A message delivered in a fashion that they will understand!
SP could move either way on Mon. Normally, with fund-raising in prospect, you would expect a dip. But if the market scents a serious bidder being flushed out, it could rocket. A trading opportunity for the hardy.
Agree - a last opportunity for a serious bid to be made. Linking up with the Japs will worry the Chinese, but will it be enough to stir them into action? Some bidders will regard this as another negotiating tactic.
Personally I think the bidders are under-rating our board. And I prefer the no-sale option - delivers best value and saves on CGT.
The BoD want the rights offer to succeed. So the timing - new financial year, with new investment funds going into ISAs - is probably no coincidence. If your ISA for this year is already maxed out, you could sell stocks within it to generate cash, or sell your nil-paid rights, in respect of EUA shares held within it, or a bit of both.
The institutions bought in around 40p, pre-Rosgeo. They obviously thought this was good value, so hopefully the SP will eventually land somewhere N of this, when the dust has settled. If the RI is pitched around 20p, then any shares you acquire could double. All IMHO, of course.
The Chinese have a major pollution problem, which may cause social unrest if not dealt with. Hence their need for Pd/Pt. My guess is that the Chinese have been playing hard-ball with our BoD. Appointing a relatively-obscure Japanese gentleman to the BoD is not a particularly strong card to play, but the Chinese will recognise two fingers being waved at them, when they see it. Sore heads in Beijing this w/e, my guess!
The Japan link puts pressure on the Chinese, IMO - China's biggest rival in the Pacific basin & a major Pd/Pt importer (China is world's biggest auto manufacturer - Japan is No 3). No love lost.
All bidders now have until the EGM to come up with realistic final offers. After that, assuming they get the rights issue off, EUA becomes a much more costly proposition.
Hi Shezer - you may be right, in the sense that this may be a manoeuvre by the BoD, to persuade a bidder to firm up a final offer, but I think the BoD have always been pretty straight with us, so I read the RNS & Circular at face value. They specifically mention a rights offer..
"the allotment of equity securities in connection with an offer by way of a rights issue to the holders of ordinary shares in proportion (as nearly as may be practicable) to their respective holdings".... Very fair to shareholders, & I applaud them for it (it will cost them more in time & money than a simple placing, which is what they mostly do on AIM)
But no point in arguing - events will unfold. Message is...hold on tight, even if there is a dip on Monday!