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Another article in The Times today:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/broker-quits-arix-over-rtw-takeover-875dkcms5

Again ohisay on advfn has cut& pasted. Here's the first part:

"

Broker quits Arix over RTW takeover

Alistair Osborne

Saturday November 11 2023, 12.01am, The Times

Peel Hunt, which has its HQ at 100 Liverpool Street in London, believes the Arix deal is unfair

PEEL HUNT

One of Arix Bioscience’s joint-brokers quit on the morning it announced a contentious takeover deal in protest at its inequitable treatment of shareholders.

Peel Hunt demanded that its name and that of its two healthcare bankers be taken off the release for the sale of the company’s assets to the rival life sciences investment company RTW Biotech.

It resigned with immediate effect hours later.

The investment bank, which had been brought into the deal late in the process, is understood to have told Arix that it could not sanction a deal that discriminated against three quarters of its shareholders to provide a cash exit on better terms to its 25.5 per cent activist investor Acacia Research.

Under the deal, unveiled at the start of this

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Here's the first part:

"

BUSINESS COMMENTARY

Don’t swallow dog’s breakfast deal at Arix Bioscience

Alistair Osborne

Friday November 10 2023, 12.01am, The Times

Four years on and Neil Woodford’s portfolio is still coming back to bite. The latest case in point? Arix Bioscience, once a darling of the fallen stockpicker but one now trying to pull off a deal every bit as unhinged as some of his.

On November 1, Arix agreed to sell its assets to RTW Biotech, another UK-listed life sciences investment company, via what is mainly an all-share deal. It was billed by Arix chairman Peregrine Moncreiffe as a transaction with “clear strategic and financial logic” set to provide a “meaningful long-term growth opportunity”. On the day of the deal, Arix shares opened at 130p. Thursday night’s price? Just 113p.

It’s not hard to see why. If the deal had been structured as the acquisition

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Thanks skid35, pretty scathing isn't it!

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/dont-swallow-dogs-breakfast-deal-at-arix-bioscience-b9r0x2g5n

(For non-subscribers, ohisay on the adfvn discussion board has done a cut&paste.)

Https://www.stockopedia.com/content/investment-trusts-some-thoughts-979216/

"I am just about over the terrible deal the board of Arix Bioscience (LON:ARIX) did with RTW Biotech Opportunities (LON:RTW) . Shareholders were not given a great deal- one shareholder got cash and all because it was an asset sale not a takeover. To be fair despite being less than happy about the outcome of the strategic review I see the Chairman of Arix has been buying shares- 100,000 over the last couple of days. If you want to invest in Biotech, buying Arix is a cheap way in to RTW Bio. And I read corporate broker Peel Hunt has stated the deal is not great for Arix shareholders maybe there could be ...

Lesson is beware an activist fund who bought from a distressed seller and was not really interested in biotech."

Downgrade from 172p to 115p, and it's worth reading this :

https://www.theaic.co.uk/aic/news/citywire-news/peel-hunt-downgrades-arix-after-rtws-opportunist-acquisition-proposal

If anyone here is an Inverstors' Chronicle subscriber, perhaps they could ask Simon Thompson what he thinks about the legality?

Thanks Steeltrader9, very good find!

https://www.burges-salmon.com/-/media/files/publications/open-access/guide-to-public-takeovers-in-the-uk.pdf

In coming up with the 'implied price' of 143p, they've failed to take into account the potential future flood of sales of RTW shares by those ex-Arix holders who don't particularly want to be RTW holders. RTW is quite illiquid (50-odd trades today, but usually less than 10) and has a bid/ask spread to match. Mr Market has anticipated this though, and their SP is already down to $1.06 bid, compared with the $1.1847 they used in their calculation.

In addition retail investors may also be hit for currency conversion charges. There is RTWG, which is £ denominated, but that has even fewer trades and a 10% spread!

Acacia, of course, would be immune to all this...

BTW The presentation is here, including a few words from Robert Lyne, but it's all pre-scripted management-speak:

https://www.rtwfunds.com/rtw-biotech-opportunities-ltd/results-and-presentations/

The 1pm Q&A might have been interesting, if we'd been invited...

Simon Thomson:

https://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/ideas/2023/11/01/is-rtw-s-offer-for-arix-a-good-deal/

"So, although I feel the combining of the two groups makes strategic sense, I would hold out for an improved offer from RTW. Hold."

Stockopedia commenters aren't happy either:

https://www.stockopedia.com/content/small-cap-value-report-wed-1-november-2023-spe-vtu-eck-978918/

Arix Bid now 118p.

Mr Market saying this deal ain't happening?

Current RTW sell price is $1.06 = 87.3p

x 1.4633 = 128p

But Acacia get to sell theirs for 143p cash.

Hmmmmm...

7400/7500

When To Exit The Uranium Trade - Fabi Lara & Steve Mueller. An interesting dicussion between two people who are very knowledgeable while not claiming to have all the answers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1EtqEzj5Qw

(But the answer is probably not yet for quite a while.)

7350/7450

7275/7400

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7100/7200

7050/7200