GZBX consolidation opposed

Genzyme Biosurgery (GZBX) shareholders Rory Riggs and John Lewis filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York seeking to block the sale of GZBX stock to Genzyme (GENZ). The shareholders said the sale of the biosurgery company at $1.77 a share, which values GZBX at $72 million, would be a 95% discount to the GZBX's fair market value, which they put at $1.5-$2 billion. GENZ said the suit is without merit.

Riggs is the former president of Biomatrix, which was one of three companies that merged in 2000 to form GZBX. Lewis is president of Gardner Lewis Asset Management. The plaintiffs own or control about 6.35 million GZBX shares in aggregate, or about 15.6% of the total shares outstanding. Riggs owns about 750,000 shares, Lewis owns about 1.1 million shares, and Gardner Lewis holds an additional 4.5 million shares for its clients. ...