BresaGen readies to relist

BresaGen (ASX:BGN) is expected to emerge from the shadow of voluntary administration this week, after shareholders voted to approve CBio's acquisition of a 51 per cent interest in the company at a general meeting on Monday.

The Adelaide-based company has been under the care of administrators Martin Lewis and Bruce Carter from Ferrier Hodgson since January, following the resignation of three company directors after the planned spin-out of the company's protein pharmaceuticals business fell through.

During Monday's general meeting, shareholders also approved a AUD$3.4 million convertible note facility and elected three new board members -- CBio's Wolf Hanisch, who will act as CEO of the restructured company, Stephen Jones and Meera Verma, BresaGen's chief operating officer.

Lewis said creditors would be paid 100 cents in the dollar in the next 7-10 days, and the company would be expected to re-list on the ASX, subject to ASIC approval, as soon as possible. "It's not often that we get insolvencies where there is a 100 cents in the dollar return to creditors and the return of shareholder value," he said.

CBio CEO Wolf Hanisch said BresaGen would remain an independent entity -- there was no intention by the CBIO board and management to use the acquisition of a controlling interest in the company to list on the ASX through the backdoor. Rather, he said, CBio had decided to acquire the company to protect its own business -- BresaGen was manufacturing CBio's clinical material under contract.

Hanisch said BresaGen had maintained its existing contracts during the period of voluntary administration, and had recently seen a significant increase in interest in its contract manufacturing and R&D services as it moved toward a resolution.

"Once the company has established itself, with profits and a revenue stream, then we'll look for a new CEO," he said. "I'm not going to put a timeline on it, but I hope it's sooner rather than later. We've got about a 2-year turnaround ahead -- that's what seems to work."

He said BresaGen would continue to focus on its business of contract R&D services, particularly in the area of protein and peptide pharmaceutical production. The company also has an investment into Californian cell therapy company Novocell, which merged in June with the entity formed by the merger of BresaGen's US-based cell therapy business and US stem cell company Cythera earlier this year.

Hanisch and Lewis both noted that there had been minimal loss of staff during the administration period. The most notable retrenchment was that of former CEO John Smeaton, who stepped down after the Cythera merger was completed.