SAN JOSE, Calif., Feb. 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Viropro, Inc.
(OTCBB: VPRO) today announced that its Board of Directors completed
its strategic review and has begun the implementation of a
restructuring designed to restore the company to financial
health.
The company's internal review was carried out in response to the
recent events in Malaysia,
including a series of break-ins at the Alpha Biologics facility in
Penang caused in part by previous
management's failure to pay utility bills and provide adequate
security. Subsequent to that, the facility was seized by Bank
Pembangunan Malaysia Berhad (BPMB), which appointed
PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory Services Sdn Bhd (PWC) as Receiver
and Manager. PWC then initiated a sale of substantially all of
the assets of Alpha as a means of recovering BPMB's outstanding
loan to Alpha, without regard to the company's other
creditors. Viropro regards the sale as ill-advised and
potentially in contravention of Malaysian and U.S. law. PWC
has not provided information to Viropro as to the status of its
proposed sale. Viropro is continuing to review its available
remedies to address its concerns, including the lack of notice
about the liquidation of Alpha, the potential increased liability
for Alpha by the failure of the liquidation notice to accurately
describe the condition of the equipment and whether the sale could
be halted to preclude further loss of the value of Alpha to the
Viropro shareholders.
The company's Board of Directors has concluded that it is
prudent to recognize the substantial loss of value associated with
the physical damage to the facility, the seizure by BPMB and the
intended sale of the company's equipment by PWC. Accordingly,
Viropro intends to write off the remaining book value of Alpha's
facility when it completes its financial statements for 2014. The
completion of those financial statements is pending the results of
litigation the company has initiated against Ms. Cynthia Tsai regarding her failure to comply
with the Court Order compelling her to turn-over her files and
e-mail messages pertaining to her tenure as Chairman and CEO of
Viropro. A hearing on the company's motion is scheduled for
February 4, 2015.
While it is possible that Viropro may recover some or all of the
assets of Alpha, the Board of Directors has concluded that the best
way to create value for Viropro shareholders is to initiate a
series of acquisitions in order to provide Viropro shareholders
with a risk-diversified exposure to a number of promising
businesses with significant potential upside. Target
companies will fall into one of two asset categories: those with
current or near-term revenues and those with clinical stage drug
development assets. The company has engaged in discussions
with six target companies and has provided those companies with
preliminary letters of intent describing the proposed
transactions. In most cases, Viropro will acquire all of the
shares of each target company in exchange for Viropro stock,
coincident with Viropro raising sufficient capital to advance the
company's products to a relevant milestone. The Board's
objective is to close the first such transaction, subject to full
diligence and shareholder approval, in the first-half of
2015.
"We are deeply disappointed about the series of events which has
culminated in our having to write off the investment in Alpha,"
said Bruce Cohen, Chair of the
Viropro Board. "In spite of enormous efforts by our Board of
Directors and our largest shareholder, we were unable to overcome
the challenges we inherited. We continue to be dismayed by the
apparent lack of willingness on the part of BPMB and PWC to
cooperate with us in order to achieve a fair outcome for the many
stakeholders in Alpha, but we are at the same time enthusiastic
about the prospects of our strategy going forward. These are very
exciting times in the life sciences industry, and we believe that
Viropro is uniquely positioned to create enduring shareholder
value."
For more information, visit www.viropro.net. / CONTACT: Viropro
Public Relations (info@viropro.net)
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SOURCE Viropro, Inc.