Jeff Engel, at Xconomy, describes the almost year long campaign at Cellular Dynamics to find the right buyer for the company:
By summer 2014, CDI was at a financial crossroads. It was facing a looming February 2015 deadline to begin repaying the principal on its credit facility—a $12 million loan taken out a month before the IPO, according to SEC filings. At the same time, it was spending significant amounts of cash on research and development and other expenses. Company leaders determined they would need to refinance the debt and/or raise new capital, according to last week’s SEC filing.Clearly, diluting shareholders less than a year after the IPO was off the list, as
The company tried to get an extension of the loan repayment period, but the agent administering the loan—major CDI shareholder Sixth Floor Investors ... denied CDI’s request twice.Moral of the story: Always pay your debts on time.
