BIND Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:BIND) soared more than 70% to as high as 68 cents per share on Monday following the news that it has asked the bankruptcy court to approve a stalking horse asset purchase agreement offered by Pfizer. Pfizer bid for most of BIND’s assets for about $20 million in cash, subject to adjustments in price. Pfizer will also assume some of the company’s contractual liabilities, according to the press release.
BIND Therapeutics Inc files to sell assets
BIND Therapeutics said the asset purchase agreement is for the initial stalking horse bid under the Bankruptcy Code. A stalking horse bid is an initial offer to purchase the assets of a company in bankruptcy. According to Street Insider, the Bankruptcy Court will then establish an auction process for the company. BIND has asked the court to authorize it to proceed with an auction on July 25 to sell most of its assets if it receives qualified overbids by July 22.
BIND will choose the highest bidder at the end of the auction. If Pfizer ends up winning the bidding process or if no qualified competing bids are received, BIND Therapeutics expects the transaction to close in the third quarter.
BIND Therapeutics files for bankruptcy
The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on May 1 and is trying to sell its assets under the Bankruptcy Code. The filing came after Hercules Technology demanded that it speed up the repayment of its $15 million loan, according to BioPharmaDive. BIND also said earlier this year that it would lay off 38% of its staff and end enrollment in a drug trial for a compound that targets cervical and head and neck cancers.
BIND Therapeutics went public almost three years ago and was able to sign collaborations with Pfizer, Merck, AstraZeneca and Roche, but its stock has been tumbling steadily since it hit $15 following the initial public offering. BIND shares slipped below $1 after the company filed for bankruptcy in May, and today’s high represents the stock’s highest level in two months. The biotech company has been working on nanoparticles to treat cancer, and one of its candidates which was developed in a collaboration with AstraZeneca has gone into the clinical testing phase.
