VANCOUVER, Jan. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - QLT Inc. (NASDAQ: QLTI;
TSX: QLT) today announced that following a months-long business and
portfolio review, the Board of Directors has decided to implement several
new initiatives designed to enhance shareholder value.
These initiatives include:
- The sale of QLT USA, Inc. whose primary assets include the Eligard(R)
product line for prostate cancer, Aczone(TM), a dermatology product
for the treatment of acne vulgaris, and the Atrigel(R) drug delivery
system, either in a single transaction or series of transactions;
- The sale of the land and building associated with and surrounding the
Company's corporate headquarters in Vancouver; and
- The reduction in headcount of 115 employees with planned future
reductions as assets are divested.
As part of its ongoing business and portfolio review, the Board of Directors announced on November 28, 2007 that it had formed a Special Committee for the purpose of exploring alternative ways to maximize shareholder value, including transactions involving the sale of all or part of the assets of the Company. The Board of Directors later announced on December 11, 2007 that it had hired Goldman, Sachs & Co. to assist with this evaluation. The Board of Directors, Special Committee and Goldman, Sachs & Co. have reviewed a variety of alternatives in pursuing these initiatives.
The Company intends to retain adequate proceeds from these asset sales in order to repay the outstanding convertible debt in September 2008. In addition, the Company will evaluate options for the optimal use of the balance of cash proceeds from the asset sales and will provide updates on these options at the appropriate time.
"Following a comprehensive review of available options, the QLT board
has concluded that seeking offers for the sale of QLT USA as a whole or of
its assets is a key initial step in ex
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