On May 15, 2020 Orgenesis Inc. (NASDAQ: ORGS) ("Orgenesis" or the "Company"), a pioneering global biotech company committed to accelerating commercialization and transforming the delivery of cell and gene therapies (CGTs) while lowering costs, reported that its Board of Directors has authorized a repurchase plan (the "Repurchase Plan") of up to $10 million of the Company’s common stock from time to time on the open market or in privately negotiated block transactions (Press release, Orgenesis, MAY 15, 2020, View Source [SID1234561685]).
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The timing and amount of any shares repurchased shall be subject to management’s discretion and will depend upon a variety of factors including general and business market conditions, corporate and regulatory requirements, share price, and alternative investment opportunities. Any share repurchases shall be in accordance with the Company’s repurchase plan under Rule 10b-18 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Repurchase Plan shall commence on May 29, 2020. The Repurchase Plan does not obligate the Company to acquire any specific number of shares in any period, and may be expanded, extended, modified, suspended or discontinued by the Board at any time. Any repurchased shares will be retired and returned to the Company’s treasury.
The Repurchase Plan will be funded using the Company’s working capital. As of March 31, 2020 the Company had cash on hand of approximately $107 million. As of May 8, 2020, Orgenesis had approximately 22 million shares of common stock outstanding.
Vered Caplan, CEO of Orgenesis, commented, "Earlier this year, we completed the sale of Masthercell for approximately $127 million in net proceeds. Not only does this transaction strengthen our balance sheet, but it clearly illustrates our ability to create significant value for shareholders. Nevertheless, we are even more excited about the growth prospects now for our Cell & Gene Therapy (CGT) Biotech Platform, which we believe provides a pathway for groundbreaking autologous therapies to become commercially available on an industrial scale and at prices accessible to large populations. Since the beginning of this year alone, we are making significant traction building our pipeline of advanced POCare Therapeutics, broadening our suite of POCare Technologies, and expanding our POCare Network with some of the leading hospitals and research institutes in the world. I truly believe Orgenesis is well positioned to lead the CGT industry by lowering costs, accelerating commercialization and transforming the delivery of CGTs. For this reason, we are excited to announce board approval for the stock buyback at this time given the current share price, which we do not believe reflects the underlying value of the business. Between upcoming catalysts and opportunistic share repurchases, we are committed to maximizing long-term shareholder value."