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BioTime Makes Bid for Geron’s Stem Cell Assets

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October 21st, 2012 7:59 am


Biotime, Inc., and two men who were
leading players in history of Geron Corp. today made a surprise,
public bid for the stem cell assets of their former firm.

Michael West
West photo
Tom Okarma
AP file photo
The men are Michael West and Thomas
Okarma. West founded Geron in 1990 and was its first CEO. West is
now CEO of Biotime. Okarma was CEO of Geron from 1999 to 2011.
Okarma joined Biotime on Sept. 28 to lead its acquistion efforts.
Both Geron, based in Menlo Park, Ca., and Biotime, based in Alameda,
Ca., are publicly traded.
West and Okarma sent an open letter this morning to Geron shareholders and issued a press release making
a pitch for the Geron's stem cell assets. Geron jettisoned its hESC
program nearly a year ago and closed its clinical trial program for
spinal injuries. The move shocked the California stem cell agency,
which just a few months earlier had signed an agreement to loan the
firm $25 million to help fund the clinical trial. The portion of the
loan that was distributed was repaid with interest.
At the time, Geron said it would try to
sell off the hESC program, but no buyers have surfaced publicly.
Personnel in the program have been laid off or found employment
elsewhere.
The West-Okarma letter to shareholders
said that under the deal,

“Geron would transfer its stem cell
assets to BAC(a new subsidiary of Biotime headed by Okarma), in
exchange for which you along with the other Geron shareholders would
receive shares of BAC common stock representing approximately 21.4%
of the outstanding BAC capital stock. BioTime would contribute to BAC
the following assets in exchange for the balance of outstanding BAC
capital stock:

  • “$40 million in BioTime common
    shares;
  • “Warrants to purchase BioTime
    common shares (“BioTime Warrants”);
  • “Rights to certain stem cell
    assets of BioTime, and shares of two BioTime subsidiaries engaged in
    the development of therapeutic products from stem cells.”
The letter asked Geron shareholders to
write the firm's board of directors to urge them to approve the
offer.
Geron had no immediate response to the
proposal. Asked for comment, Kevin McCormack, spokesman for the
California stem cell agency, said the deal “had nothing to do with
us.” However, in the past, CIRM has indicated that it could find a
way to transfer the loan to an entity that would continue spinal
injury clinical trial. CIRM President Alan Trounson was also involved
at one point in trying to assist in a deal.
Geron's shares rose 12 cents to $1.54
today while Biotime's shares lost four cents to $3.95.
Here are links to the two news stories
that have appeared so far on the proposed deal: Associated Press, Marketwatch.

Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/uqpFc/~3/v1bas6eGZF0/biotime-makes-bid-for-gerons-stem-cell.html

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