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PACB - Pacific Biosciences of California


writser

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My portfolio is currently ~50% mergers and special situations. Maybe even more depending on what label you put on certain stuff. That percentage is not set in stone. It tends to be a bit lower but I currently have a few large positions in special situations that I think are very attractive. Also, I don't see any no-brainer investments at the moment. Gotta try to make money somwhere ..

 

 

Do you mind sharing a few ideas and/or how you source these ideas?

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But i think that was published like 22 hours ago, so known yesterday?

 

In small-cap land I am generally sceptical of 'leaked insider info'. Usually its just noise. Given that this is a much larger company, I have less conviction that also holds this time, but what do I know.

 

 

Could not help myself - count me in as a future bagholder. Bought a small position.

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Quickly skimmed through the document.  I somehow get the sense that the regulators are basically saying “we’re gonna say no to this because Illumina is such a dominant player and their internal docs and 3rd parties suggest they’re trying to use this acquisition to solidify their monopolistic position; and yeah we’ve seen the data and numbers they gave us but we’re not gonna put much emphasis on that because those are all about the past and the industry is changing quickly.”  Leaving aside the question as to whether they’re being reasonable or not, that sounds like a hard position for the merging parties and their lawyers to effectively argue against. 

 

More broadly, I see this as further confirmation that the antitrust regulators are really changing their views.  AFIAK, these types of mergers used to go through without much discussion until not too long ago.

 

On the positive side though, if the regulators are right about the potential of PacBio’s new product (Sequel II), it is not inconceivable that the company gets acquired by a different competitor or even starts doing well on their own.  So there’s probably a price at which this becomes a buy. 

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Its becoming more hostile for sure, but there is nothing wrong, or illegal with one trying to buy other companies to protect their market position. I could start up a business and overpay for competitors with the intention of creating or protecting a monopoly. But at the end of the day it is not that simple and certain conditions have to exist for something to be predatory and a detriment to competition.

 

Its hard to make the case that Pac Bio will be successful as a stand-alone business. Its easier to make the case that ILMN is a monopoly like player, but you can do that with or without PACB. Mr. de Souza even discussed recently how the PACB deal really just added a complimentary product, and that this isn't somewhere they currently compete.

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real power is not being able to be bribed. and why can't pacb sell out their entire UK business and get the deal done? why are they in a country that would rule against them. Go to cz or romania or hungary or ukraine. I am 100% certain they won't give a damn especially after throwing some money around. And that is exactly as business should be.

Too much communism in the west.

 

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For all the bagholders, some interesting reading in the UK 'competition and markets authority' case file: https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/illumina-inc-pacific-biosciences-of-california-inc-merger-inquiry#history . Shares are up slightly today after PACB / ILMN submitted a remedies proposal: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5dcbc8ba40f0b64250f50116/Remedy_proposal.pdf . The CMA seems very pessimistic. There are two ways around a 'substantial lessening of competition' (SLC): a structural remedy (i.e. divestiture) or a behavioral remedy (i.e. IP licensing to competitors). The CMA asserts:

 

"At this stage, the only structural remedy that CMA has identified as being likely to be effective would be prohibition of the Proposed Merger"

 

"The CMA’s current view is that a behavioural remedy on its own is very unlikely to be an effective remedy to the SLC and/or any resulting adverse effects that it has provisionally identified. Given the dynamic nature of the market and the importance of innovation and non-price competition, any behavioural remedy would face acute specification and circumvention risks that would be likely to render it ineffective.".

 

As a solution Illumina is proposing to give away certain IP licences perpetually for free to competitors. Seems unlikely that that will change the verdict but who am I to judge. Maybe the CMA is playing hardball.

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Does cma say someone else can buy pacb but nor illumina because pacb is running out of money and it would be funny if the government killed the company)

 

Killing PACB may actually be an Ok outcome for Illumina, which is a scary thought for PACB shareholders. The Brits wouldn’t care too much about killing an US company either.

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Does cma say someone else can buy pacb but nor illumina because pacb is running out of money and it would be funny if the government killed the company)

 

Killing PACB may actually be an Ok outcome for Illumina, which is a scary thought for OACB shareholders. the Brits wouldn’t care too much about killing an US company either.

 

No company - especially one with bleeding edge tech and patents - is ever "killed". Even if it runs out of money, someone will scoop the assets. I am not a lawyer, but it might be possible even for ILMN to buy the assets out of bankruptcy.

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Does cma say someone else can buy pacb but nor illumina because pacb is running out of money and it would be funny if the government killed the company)

 

Killing PACB may actually be an Ok outcome for Illumina, which is a scary thought for PACB shareholders. The Brits wouldn’t care too much about killing an US company either.

The whole part of the document about PACB possibly exiting the market if the deal doesn't go through is pretty much completely redacted, but the conclusion of the CMA is that PACB would/could be viable as a standalone entity or that another party would be interested in buying it (perhaps not at the same price as Illumina, or they need to raise dilutive equity financing, but that's not a concern for the CMA). And I guess that's probably true. Their latest gen product doesn't seem to bad and if they can improve it more it could become more interesting.

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Isn't it odd that the antitrust authority is asking pacb to find a plan b that ranges from a poorer deal to shareholder losses in the name of upholding competition because they have a technology so powerful even the company is clueless about it's prospects, although the company still has trouble making money? As a side note is it against anti trust for illumina to buy say a 49 percent stake instead of 100 percent ?

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I don't think that's particularly weird. Illumina has a huge market share, so it makes sense that any deal that they do raises competitive concerns. And quite possibly because they have such a dominant market position they are able and willing to pay more for a potential competitor than anyone else. If you have to approve every deal from the party that is willing to offer the highest price you can better just dissolve every antitrust regulatory agency.

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Well, now the FTC... stick a fork in her.... continued government arrogance...Perhaps they could use one of these stupid green energy programs to buy PACB for $8.... since its apparently so friggin promising.

 

5:0 (FTC vote against the merger ) is a pretty clear score in a soccer match and this is no different here. I don’t think this merger is going to happen. PACB’s board need’s plan B and that means a merger with another partner, even if they pay less.

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