Canada's Angiotech will file for bankruptcy protection under Canada's Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act. The recapitalization move is expected to end with the elimination of Angiotech's $250 million in senior subordinated notes and obligations. Angiotech's current shareholders will be eliminated with no compensation. The biotech, once one of Canada's most profitable, has also arranged for $25 million in debtor-in-possession loans from Wells Fargo. Angiotech has been on the rocks since 2008 and was one of many Canadian companies hit particular hard during the recession.
"After concluding many months of deliberations with various parties, we have elected to pursue the completion of our proposed recapitalization transaction through a CCAA proceeding, a possible path we originally described in our October 2010 press release," said Angiotech CEO William Hunter. "We believe that this approach will best facilitate the expedient conclusion of our proposed recapitalization, and thereby allow us to achieve the improvements to our liquidity and capital structure that will be necessary to pursue our business goals."
Special Report: The 2010 Biotech Graveyard