KUBC.L Regulatory News (KUBC)

17 Dec 2007 07:00

Kubera Cross-Border Fund Limited17 December 2007 17 December 2007 Kubera Cross-Border Fund Limited KUBC invests up to US $17 million in Ocimum Biosolutions, a leading global genomics outsourcing business The Kubera Cross-Border Fund Limited ("KUBC") (LSE: KUBC), an investment companytraded on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange, is pleased to announcethat it has acquired a significant minority interest in Ocimum Biosolutions ("Ocimum" or the "Company") for an equity investment of up to US$17 million(including the pro rata investment by affiliates of Kubera Partners, LLC, theInvestment Manager of KUBC). Ocimum is a life sciences research and development-enabling company, deliveringend-to-end genomic products and services from three global locations:Indianapolis (United States), Ijsselstien (Netherlands), and Hyderabad (India).The Company's presence across the globe allows it to service customers locallywhile leveraging its global capabilities. Ocimum has won several awards and wasthe Red Herring 100 Asia winner for 2006, an award conferred on the leadingtechnology companies by Red Herring Magazine. The Company has three main focus areas: BioIT, BioMolecules, and BioResearch.The BioIT division provides reliable and cost effective software solutions forthe biotech industry. The division also offers high-end informatics servicesincluding gene identification, algorithm development and database creation andanalysis. The BioMolecules division produces oligonucleotides and microarrays,which are used by biotechnology labs for genomics research and experimentation.The BioResearch division provides molecular biology services including geneexpression profiling, SNP studies, QPCR, genotyping, DNA extraction, and genesynthesis. Ocimum has had an impressive track record of organic and inorganic growth. Thisfinancing will primarily be used by the Company to fund its acquisition of theGenomics division of Gene Logic Inc (NASDAQ: GLGC), which will add significantcapabilities to Ocimum's suite of offerings. The division's BioExpress andToxExpress database comprise of a bio-repository of over 80,000 samples and theservices business provides data generation and analysis services to large labsaround the world. The division, with revenues of over $15 million, is beingacquired by Ocimum for a cash consideration of $10 million. Ocimum has in thepast successfully integrated MWG Biotech's (Germany) microarray business andIsogen's (Netherlands) oligonucleotide business. Commenting on the new partnership, Anuradha Acharya, CEO of Ocimum, said, "Wewere looking for a partner that apart from providing growth capital andacquisition financing has a similar footprint as ours and can understand ourbusiness and our global customer service and delivery model. Kubera's trackrecord and their ability to add value in a cross-border sense uniquely qualifiesthem to help with businesses such as ours." She further added that "The GeneLogic acquisition will help us in achieving our vision of becoming the numberone genomics outsourcing company in the world. We will leverage our globalpositioning and Gene Logic's branding and scientific leadership intoxicogenomics, pharmacogenomics, and clinical genomics to become a partner ofchoice for our customers." Ramanan Raghavendran, Managing Partner at Kubera Partners said, "We believegenomics outsourcing is at the cusp of significant growth given the demands onthe drug discovery function for labs around the world. Ocimum is wellpositioned to capture this opportunity because of its leadership in genomics,deep technology knowledge and experience, global delivery capability and aboveall its world class scientific talent and management team." The initial $14 million KUBC investment takes the form of convertible preferredshares in Ocimum Biosolutions, an India-domiciled company. KUBC will receivetwo board seats, standard governance rights, and standard economic rightsincluding a liquidity preference. KUBC ownership of Ocimum will beapproximately 35% at closing. There is a significant earn out for managementbased on the performance of the combined company in the fiscal year ending March2009. Under certain circumstances, KUBC will have the right to invest anadditional $3 million. KUBC anticipates deploying further capital in Ocimumbeyond these amounts to finance future acquisitions. Kubera Partners, as the investment manager of KUBC, invests in cross-bordercompanies that are Western headquartered and seek to leverage India and Asiabased resources for availability of talent or access to new markets; andcompanies headquartered in India and Asia that seek to expand in Western marketsthrough acquisition or sales force development. Kubera Partners isdifferentiated by the track record of its principals and their complementaryexperience. For more information contact: Kubera Partners, LLC (Investment manager of Kubera Cross-Border Fund Limited)Ramanan Raghavendran, Managing PartnerTel : +1 (212) 295 2400Email : info@kuberapartners.comwww.kuberapartners.com Grant Thornton Corporate Finance (Nominated Adviser)Philip Secrett, PartnerTel no: +44 (0) 20 7383 5100 LCF Edmond de Rothschild Securities Limited (Broker)Hiroshi FunakiTel no: +44 (0) 20 7845 5968 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange