IBT: Liquidation not in the cards
In a letter to shareholders, the International Biotechnology Trust (LSE:IBT) investment fund has rebuffed calls by Millennium Partners to restructure the trust and allow shareholders to liquidate their holdings. Millennium, the fund's second largest shareholder with 10.6 percent, has accused IBT of mismanagement and called on the trust to allow its investors to cash out of the 285 million ($428 million) fund.
Millennium is raising concerns about the "protracted and continuing uncertainty over the management of IBT's assets" since April 1999, when fund manager Rothschild Asset Management (RAM) announced it would exit the biotechnology sector and would remove IBT and other biotech investments from its books. IBT was to be merged with Merlin Ventures, the biotech venture capital firm, to form Merlin Biosciences. However, Rothschild has now said it will keep the trust (see BioCentury Extra, Thursday June 29). Millennium also is concerned that shareholders were not informed about the termination of discussions with Merlin sooner. ...