Synergy Pharmaceuticals Inc fka SGYPQ

[Opti Mist]

Good Morning: the big places to follow this are:

https://cases.primeclerk.com/synergy/Home-DocketInfo (this is where all the court filings are posted)

https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/SGYP/community?p=SGYP (this is the yahoo discussion board) Significant post here was:
Army12 hours ago
Okay folks here is a brief update. Things seem to have gotten pushed back for two weeks by mutual agreement of all parties. I am not super happy with that because I was hoping they could get pushed back further. The US trustee has not as of yet recommended an equity committee. The US trustee has also not been granted an examiner as of yet. I can't give you anything solid beyond that just a bunch of rumors that are not worth repeating. It looks like synergy is opening its options Beyond a liquidation at this point. I was told that there is a 50-50 chance of a sale versus continued operational financing. I am personally hoping for complete liquidation of the company as I have zero trust in the management. The unsecured creditors committee and the ad hoc shareholders committee still seem to be working together. Apparently, the unsecured creditors committee will not object to having an equity committee formed. There is some optimism that synergy will not oppose an equity committee but I think that is just foolish wishing. Why would the company go along with an equity committee given their proven bad conduct at this point? That's all I have for now. This thing is far from over. One overriding concern in this process is that the US trustee's office is functioning at 25% capacity because of the government shutdown and the court system is functioning at 100%. The reason the court system is functioning at 100% is because it's funded by filing fees and they have plenty of operational funds to continue. This puts us at a great disadvantage in the process as clearly the US trustee has chosen to side with shareholders. That being said, please keep riding the judge letters.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/249601548918982/?multi_permalinks=382702435608892¬if_id=1546670517483838¬if_t=group_activity (this is the Facebook group) Significant post here was: Scott Firle
12 hrs
From the Wall Street Journal
Synergy Pharmaceuticals Inc. won court permission to move forward with a proposed sale of its two gastrointestinal drugs and other assets to Bausch Health Cos., formerly Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc., after agreeing to delay the process by two weeks.
During a hearing Friday at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York, Judge James Garrity Jr. said he was satisfied with the extension and was pleased to keep the process rolling forward. The judge had previously expressed concern about moving the sale along too quickly.
"The two weeks certainly helps," he said.
The sale of Synergy and rights to its drugs are subject to a competitive process and the receipt of higher and better offers, with Bausch Health serving as the lead, or stalking horse, bidder. Synergy says it needs to move quickly to minimize the administrative costs of bankruptcy, which can pile up quickly.
The marketing process, initially designed to run for five weeks, will now run for about seven weeks. Under the revised timeline approved Friday, competing offers will be due Feb. 23, with an auction to follow Feb. 26. A hearing to request final court approval of the sale is set for March 1.
In addition to extending the sale timeline, Synergy also agreed to "additional flexibility" for competing bidders, including allowing bids for just one of the company's two drugs. Synergy's chief executive also agreed to waive his share of a $15 million severance plan packaged with the proposed sale to Bausch, according to Christopher Dressel, a lawyer for Synergy.
Prior to Friday's hearing, the proposed sale process had drawn objections from unsecured creditors, a group of shareholders and the U.S. Trustee, an arm of the Justice Department that monitors bankruptcy cases.
The objections expressed concern about undervalued assets and about Centerview Partners LLC's role in advising Synergy. Court papers show Centerview has previously worked for both Bausch and Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Inc., a major competitor to Synergy.
Centerview says it isn't conflicted and that its work for Bausch and Ironwood are in no way related to Synergy. Both Judge Garrity and Greg Zipes, a lawyer for the U.S. Trustee, said they would revisit the matter at another hearing scheduled for Jan. 17.
Ryan Jareck, a lawyer representing an ad hoc group of shareholders, said in court Friday that the benefits of keeping the sale process moving forward outweighed his reservations about the deal with Bausch and compressed sale timeline.
"The process we see today isn't perfect, but they never are," he said.
Synergy filed for chapter 11 protection Dec. 12 with prearranged plans to sell its assets to Bausch for about $200 million in cash. The deal includes the rights to Synergy's signature product Trulance, a tablet approved for adults with chronic idiopathic constipation and irritable bowel syndrome with constipation
Trulance is the company's only commercial product. Another development-stage compound owned by Synergy, dolcanatide, is also aimed at patients with digestive problems.
Shareholders have complained that Synergy hasn't revealed enough information about dolcanatide's value, saying the results of a clinical trial being conducted at the National Cancer Institute are expected to be released this spring. The trial is examining dolcanatide's efficacy in preventing colorectal cancer in adults, court papers show.
Bausch Health, based in Quebec, changed its name from Valeant earlier this year in an attempt to distance itself from past controversies. Valeant faced scrutiny from investors, health insurers and lawmakers over its accounting and business practices, such as buying the rights to manufacture drugs and then increasing their prices.

and more at each site.

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