Information management systems provider Symyx Technologies, Inc., US, has announced that it has completed the planned divestiture of its High Productivity Research (HPR) business unit assets to FreeSlate, Inc. (formerly HPR Global). The sale, announced last month, marks the transition of Symyx to a pure-play scientific software company.
The divestiture follows an extensive strategic evaluation and sales process in consultation with Symyx's financial advisors, and consists of HPR's tools business assets and certain assets of Symyx's recently restructured contract research services operations. The assets are being acquired by FreeSlate, a newly formed company led by John Senaldi, HPR's former president. They include substantially all existing HPR physical assets and certain intellectual property assets, including a portion of Symyx's patent portfolio and certain components of Symyx's Lab Execution and Analysis software suite. Senaldi resigned from Symyx prior to the signing of the divestiture agreement to lead the acquisition of HPR assets as founder and chief executive officer of FreeSlate.
As part of the deal, Symyx has provided about $8.6 million of working capital (mostly in cash), receiving in return a $10.0 million note and common stock representing an approximately 19.5 percent stake in FreeSlate. Symyx retained all existing rights to royalties and licensing fees previously included in HPR, as well as relevant patents underlying these entitlements. Following the closing, FreeSlate hired substantially all Symyx employees previously in HPR. Symyx expects to conclude certain remaining legacy chemical research services contracts by the end of the second quarter of 2010. As a result of the divestiture and these actions, Symyx is concluding all of its HPR activities other than its ongoing licence and royalty entitlements.
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