BIA (BioIndustry Association) welcomes move to revamp UK pre-emption policy:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The UK's BioIndustry Association (BIA) has welcomed a report reviewing current pre-emption guidelines and whether they inhibit public companies from raising adequate funding from the capital markets. The BIA highlighted the report's criticism of the "blanket approach to disapplying pre-emption rights...due to a rigid interpretation of the guidelines". The BIA welcomes the recommendations of report author Paul Myners that the guidelines should be replaced to allow for a "case-by-case engagement between a company's directors and shareholders" and that there be a more proactive monitoring of their application, under a new pre-emption group. The current fund-raising thresholds stand at 5% of issued share capital per year, and up to 7.5% over a three-year period. The BIA wants the 5% limit raised to 20%.