MathStar Inc (OTC:MATH) has taken the first steps to liquidation, announcing that it is preparing to sell its Field Programmable Object Array (FPOA) technology and intellectual property.
We started following MATH in December last year when it was trading at $0.68 because it was a net cash stock with a substantial stockholder lobbying management to liquidate. The stock is up 29.4% to $0.88 yesterday, giving it a market capitalization of $8.1M. We estimate MATH’s liquidation value still to be around 80% higher at $14.8M or $1.57 per share. That value is predominantly cash and short term investments and doesn’t take into account any further value that the sale of the FPOA technology and intellectual property may yield. Two activist investors, Mr. Salvatore Muoio of S. Muoio & Co. and Mr. Zachary McAdoo of The Zanett Group, have been urging MATH’s board to consider liquidation rather than a merger. MATH’s board seems to agree, twice rejecting unsolicited merger proposals, suspending the company’s operations and exploring “strategic alternatives, which could include merger, acquisition, increasing operations in another structure or liquidation.”
The company’s announcement of the sale of the technology and intellectual property is as follows:
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado – January 26, 2009 – Core Capital’s Electronics and Semiconductor Group (ESG), an investment banking firm with an electronics and semiconductor focus, announces that its client, MathStar, Inc. (OTC: MATH), has prepared its technology for purchase. MathStar, a fabless semiconductor company specializing in high-performance programmable logic, is finalizing its Field Programmable Object Array (FPOA) technology and intellectual property package for sale. Arrangements have been prepared to assist prospective buyers to evaluate the opportunity, including a webinar, a private “data room” web portal, and access to key creators of the technology.
MathStar began its sales efforts in early October 2008, when it signed with the Core Capital Electronics and Semiconductor Group to complete a strategic sale of MathStar’s technology and intellectual property.
[Disclosure: We do not presently have a holding in MATH. This is neither a recommendation to buy or sell any securities. All information provided believed to be reliable and presented for information purposes only.]
Greenbackd 