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Biowatch

12/07/22 11:45 AM

#244668 RE: DewDiligence #243024

CBIO Old news, but interesting:

https://ir.catalystbiosciences.com/news-releases/news-release-details/catalyst-biosciences-sends-letter-stockholders

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., July 19, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Catalyst Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBIO) (the “Company” or “we”) today announced that it mailed a letter to its stockholders in connection with the Company’s upcoming 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Annual Meeting”), scheduled to be held on August 15, 2022. Catalyst stockholders of record at the close of business on July 15, 2022, are eligible to vote at the Annual Meeting. We encourage stockholders to read the Company’s letter to stockholders, which can be seen by clicking on the link here.

Catalyst’s Board of Directors, following extensive engagement with the Company’s largest stockholders, developed a plan to return all of the Company’s available cash expeditiously to stockholders, after reserving for liabilities and obligations (the “Cash Distribution Plan”). We estimate that we will ultimately be able to provide stockholders with as much as $65 million in cash, in one or more distributions, and we continue to pursue the monetization of our remaining assets and are hopeful we can generate additional cash to distribute.

Regrettably, a stockholder, JDS1, LLC (“JDS1”), who has a history of gaining control, or trying to gain control of, cash-rich companies for its own benefit, is impeding the Cash Distribution Plan. JDS1 is seeking to replace three Catalyst directors at this year’s Annual Meeting with three of its close associates who have longstanding connections to Julian Singer, JDS1’s principal, and his family. Two of those three JDS1 candidates are CEOs of public companies that have signed management contracts with JDS1 and pay JDS1 substantial fees to manage their assets and cash. If it is successful at this year’s Annual Meeting, JDS1 will have influenced the appointment of four of Catalyst’s seven independent directors – a majority of the Company’s independent board members. As described more fully in the letter, the Catalyst Board is concerned that JDS1 is seeking significant influence over the Catalyst Board so that the Company’s cash is put to work in a manner that disproportionately benefits the Singer family.

Catalyst urges stockholders to support the Cash Distribution Plan by reelecting the Company’s nominees, by voting “FOR” ALL nominees on the WHITE proxy card.

We encourage stockholders to read Catalyst’s letter to stockholders, which is copied below: …