More news on Aderans

Aderans announced its purchase of 100% stake in HC (USA), Inc. (of Boca Raton, Florida), effective April 9, 2013.

http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/8170.T/key-developments/article/2730801

This is the company better known to the public as Hair Club for Men or Hair Club.

http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=138823105

http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/8170.T/key-developments/article/2573317

To my knowledge, Aderans and Bosley never had an association with Hair Club before.

This might explain their liquidation of ARI.

In my mind, there are 2 distinct possibilities here:

  1. They gave up on cell-based HM because the trials failed, and decided to switch investment over to hair pieces.

  2. The trials actually succeeded and they’re liquidating ARI’s assets just to pay for their purchase of Hair Club. In this scenario, they plan to roll out Ji Gami HM through the Hair Club network, along with Bosley.

I think the first possibility is a simpler explanation and more likely (as Cal said, their trials may have failed to deliver), but 2 is also possible.

Wonder what this was about… What was the “sensitive, nonpublic business information” shared?

Can anyone guess??

If Ji Gami was commercially viable, then why in the hell would the parent company WANT to buy the HCFM?

We’re waiting on a cure for paralysis. The parent company working on it has just started liquidating the research lab’s assets after phase#2, and then they turned around and bought a large chain of wheelchair sellers. This does not look good at all.

I guess they could be doing it as an attempt to eliminate a competitor once Ji Gami is released. But I’m not optimistic right now.

[quote][postedby]Originally Posted by cal[/postedby]
If Ji Gami was commercially viable, then why in the hell would the parent company WANT to buy the HCFM?

We’re waiting on a cure for paralysis. The parent company working on it has just started liquidating the research lab’s assets and bought a large chain of wheelchair sellers. There’s only one way to read this.[/quote]

Actually, i think there’s another way to read it.

Say ARI’s trials succeeded, and showed the process is viable and marketable.

Say they’re under a sort of gag order from the FDA, though. (They might even have a US IPO or international securities offering in the works so that complicates their ability to disclose information even further.)

Now, say they need a big network to do Phase III trials on thousands of baldies, plus to roll out the procedure once trials are all done.

A purchase of HCM would make sense.

Now, what would that “sensitive nonpublic business information” consist of, the disclosure of which caused the FTC to place sanctions on Bosley (actually the penalties are kind of mild)…?

It might mean that Bosley people (certain doctors we know) approached HCM and maybe other candidates and disclosed details of the trials that they shouldn’t have, and also discussed potential pricing for Ji Gami, etc.

The reasoning would be that this would be a major negotiating chip to strike a deal with someone like HCM, because in every sale, both sides are getting something and have to be pleased. It has to be a win-win. Maybe the $163.5 million wasn’t just outright cash, maybe it was cash + Aderans stock.

Now, in order to induce HCM to go for such a deal, Aderans would want to disclose as much as they could about the Ji Gami results.

But because the information is still classified as “sensitive, nonpublic” info, if they disclosed this in order to cut a deal, they’d be violating their responsibility not to disclose this information until they’re allowed to.

The fact that the whole thing is so closely interwoven with pricing information complicated it a lot for Bosley. (My guess is that some competitor of Bosley got wind of the talks, and reported them to the FTC. Since the whole thing was mixed up with pricing information, even if they could lawfully talk about the details of Ji Gami, just the fact that they discussed pricing may have forced the FTC to slap them with sanctions.)

Interesting that the HCM sale cleared the day after the FTC settlement.

The FTC release keeps on referring to “sensitive, nonpublic business information”.

Some are going to say this info dealt only with standard HT pricing, and had nothing to do with Ji Gami stuff. But there’s actually no more reason to believe that right now than to think that it did. Since it’s sensitive and nonpublic, by definition the FTC wouldn’t and couldn’t describe it in its announcement.

I think there’s a good chance it actually might.

Seriously, I hope that is the case. Keep an eye out on the stock prices.

[quote][postedby]Originally Posted by cal[/postedby]
If Ji Gami was commercially viable, then why in the hell would the parent company WANT to buy the HCFM?

[/quote]

I agree with RT, Hair Club together with Bosley provide one of the biggest distribution network in the world, if Aderans succeeded, they are ready to roll out via a massive network and make tons of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Yes optimism is nice, but lets be real here… Its done! We are overreaching

I just went to Aderans site and there is a press release for july 5th.

Notice Regarding Detail of Issuance of Subscription Rights as Stock Options
(Aderans Co., Ltd. Fifth Series Subscription Rights as Stock Options)
July 5, 2013, Tokyo—Aderans Co., Ltd. (hereafter “the Company”) announces that the
pending items of the subscription rights as stock options (hereafter, “Subscription Rights”)
were decided today. As previously announced, the Board of Directors had resolved at a
meeting held on the May 23, 2013 to issue Subscription Rights for the Company’s directors
(including employees with director responsibilities and outside directors). Details are
presented below.

  1. Number of people to be granted Subscription Rights and number of Subscription
    Rights allotted
    Directors of the Company: 6 people, 1,035 subscription rights
    Employees of the Company: 53 people, 1,895 subscription rights

I’m not an investor but this is the definition for Issuance of Subscription Rights …Noun, 1. subscription right - the right of a shareholder in a company to subscribe to shares of a new issue of common stock before it is offered to the public.

Why would they be offering the new shares to the directors and employees,
Because they now own HCM ?

I just noticed their press release for may 23rd explaining the reason

I. Reason for Issuing Subscription Rights
As consideration for the execution of duties, the issuance of Subscription Rights to the
Company’s directors and employees shall primarily serve to boost morale within the
Company and motivate directors and employees to maintain their commitment and
enthusiasm to raise corporate value

Make any sense