“We are confident that the completion of our key strategic projects has the potential to deliver greater value to our stockholders than the current non-binding proposal.Our board has reviewed the BML proposal and believesthat it is grossly undervalued,” stated Thomas B. Pickens III, CEO and CTO of
The Proposal is Opportunistic and Significantly Undervalues the Company
The Board believes that the Proposal significantly undervalues the Company and prioritizes the short-term gain of BML at the expense of the Company’s stockholders. The Board believes the Proposal is an opportunistic attempt by BML to purchase the Company’s shares at a discounted price that significantly undervalues the Company’s business.
- The offer price of
$17.25 per share represents a significant 34% discount to the per share value of the Company’s cash and short term investments as ofMarch 31, 2023 . The cash and short-term investments represent the Company’s primary liquidity source for funding the development of its products and execution of its long-term business strategy. - The offer price represents a more than
$10 million discount to cash for which BML is expecting to benefit to the detriment and disregard of our shareholders. - The offer price represents an even greater discount when considering the value of the Company’s key mass spectrometry technology that is the foundation of our current and future products, and therefore does not reflect the Company’s true intrinsic value or prospects.
- The Company has continued to drive stockholder value by expanding its offerings in existing and new markets to capitalize on opportunities for new business.
The Proposal Would Deprive Stockholders of Long-Term Value
The Board believes that the Company’s stockholders will best be served by the Company continuing to pursue its long-term business strategy because the Board believes that the long-term value of the Company is greater than the short-term liquidation or sale value represented by the Proposal. As a result, the Proposal would deny the Company’s stockholders the full benefits of the Company’s developing business opportunities in bringing products to market and its overall growth strategy. For example, the Proposal does not take into account the successful results of the AgLAB Maximum Value Process™ method (AgLAB subsidiary) or the recent purchase order for 17 TRACER 1000 systems (1st Detect subsidiary). The partnership with
BML Is Seeking Short-Term Gain at the Expense of Long-Term Value for Stockholders
The Board believes that BML’s aim is to realize a short-term gain at the expense of the Company’s other stockholders. The Board believes that BML’s strategy of potentially liquidating the Company, as stated in BML’s Schedule 13D, would result in unfair profits to BML at the expense of all other stockholders because the offer price of
The Proposal is Subject to Financing Uncertainties
The Proposal states that BML has funds “readily available” to close a transaction but provides no details or evidence of any financing commitments, sources, methods, discussions or other customary disclosure regarding how BML plans to fund over
Our Commitment
The Company’s Board is committed to delivering long-term value to stockholders by executing on its strategic business plans and growing the Company’s mass spectrometry technology and business lines. The Board will continue to work on behalf of stockholders to grow Astrotech’s business and generate increasing value for its stockholders generally over the limited opportunistic interests of the few.
About
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, trends, and uncertainties that could cause actual results to be materially different from the forward-looking statement. Furthermore, there can be no assurance that the non-binding proposal will result in a formal offer or that any such offer will ultimately result in a completed transaction. These factors include, but are not limited to, the severity and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the
Company Contact: Jaime Hinojosa, Chief Financial Officer,Astrotech Corporation , (512) 485-9530
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