Phio Pharmaceuticals Corp (PHIO)

[The Other Guy]

They've hired an investment bank (Griffin) to look for business development or M&A "transactions".

According to Dr. Cauwenbergh in the latest cc, "we are in active discussions regarding a potential merger transaction that, if successful, would be expected to bring substantial synergies to the combined business and advance our clinical pipeline." It sounds like they have an existing candidate.

In normal industry partnerships between two companies, you don't hear an investment bank being involved in the advisory. But in an acquisition, you read that the two parties were advised by so and so banks. They are also low on cash to move ahead on their own and haven't raised recently. All signs of a potential sale IMO.

Good points. The cash on hand is one I am puzzled by. They can easily release more shares to increase cash on hand, but why haven't they?

I also recall in 2015 Dr. Cauwenbergh said he would like to structure a partnership where the partner buys shares on the open market as part of the deal. Was the late June volume a partner or M&A candidate buying up shares in anticipation of a coming deal?