When I invest in a founder lead company such as IMU (with Founder/Exec Chair, Paul Hopper) I also look at his other listed companies. Namely RAD and CHM.
Is anyone else concerned of potential or perceived conflicts between IMU and CHM and PH’s focus/priorities?
- Common Directors:
- Founder & Exec Chairman: Paul Hopper
- Director: Lesley Russell
- Director (till just before the $4.4m finders fee IMU paid to CHM): Leslie Chong
- August 2023 “finders fee” payment of $4.4m by IMU to CHM. With no detailed explanation on how this fee was negotiated, calculated or earned by CHM.
- CHM under significant cash strain with estimate of less than 1 quarter of cash as at end of Sept 2024 (accordingly to the June 2024 Quarterly report).
- Without the $4.4m “finders fee” payment from IMU, CHM would have ran out of cash already. CHM cash as at 30 June 2024 was only $3m.
- Significant time and focus to be taken by CHM Founder & Chair, Paul Hopper, to ensure sufficient funds are raised urgently to keep CHM a going concern and restructure its expenses.
- At the same time PH as IMU Founder & Chairman need to start shoring up funding for IMU with approx 3 quarters of funding left come end Sept 2024. So PH will be potentially out in the market rattling the cash tin concurrently raising funds for CHM and IMU.
- There is speculation in the CHM threads that IMU may potentially save/takeover CHM (MC = $13m).
- My wild speculation (and I stress MY SPECULATiON) is that IMU may indeed do a large cap raise shortly and indeed mop up CHM. PH needs to ensure CHM does not go under as this will have a negative reputational contagion effect on his perceived ability to adequately manage and run the larger RAD (MC $65m) and IMU (MC $365m). This will negatively impact IMU and RAD by the common PH (Founder/Exec Chair) association.
- All the cap raises for IMU, CHM and RAD over the past 3 years are underwater at current sp. Longer term investors have been burnt and will not touch an PH capital raising. Only the flippers made money (I was fortunate to flipped my IMU SPP shares for a large profit in late 2023. I am hoping for a repeat in 2024).
3 year sp performance: (note the similar negative performances of all three, with all 3 founded and Chaired by PH).
- IMU = down 90%
- RAD = down 92%
- CHM = down 95%
What will happen to PH reputation in the biotech industry (and by extension to IMU) if CHM goes under?
What would be worst for IMU holders … CHM saved by IMU (massive conflict of interest and a deal/takeover unlikely to be at arms length) or CHM left on its own and go under?
Are there any other white knights for CHM? This would be my preferred option.
(20min delay)