Kent Lake Issues Letter to Quanterix Shareholders Regarding Opposition to the Company’s Proposed Merger with Akoya Biosciences
February 18 2025 - 2:40PM
Business Wire
Believes Merger Agreement Significantly
Undervalues Quanterix
Kent Lake PR LLC (“Kent Lake”), a holder of 5.9% of the
outstanding common stock of Quanterix Corporation (“Quanterix” or
the “Company”) (NASDAQ: QTRX), today highlighted its opposition to
the Company’s proposed merger (the “Merger”) with Akoya Biosciences
(“Akoya”) (NASDAQ: AKYA). Kent Lake has also issued an open letter
to all Quanterix shareholders outlining how the Merger
significantly undervalues the Company and its intention to take all
necessary steps to vote against the deal.
The full text of the letter can be viewed here.
In its letter, Kent Lake details the following key reasons to
vote against the Merger:
- A Massive and Unjustifiable Valuation Disparity: The
deal assigns Quanterix an enterprise value of only $42 million,
while valuing the weaker Akoya business at $168 million despite
Quanterix’s superior revenue, growth, and market opportunity.
- A Bailout for Akoya at Quanterix Shareholders’ Expense:
Akoya’s financial struggles would have forced it to seek external
financing at a deep discount. Instead, Quanterix’s Board of
Directors (the “Board”) is handing it a premium at the expense of
its own investors.
- A Major Risk to Quanterix’s Financial Strength:
Post-merger, Quanterix’s cash runway shrinks from 6.5 years to just
2.5 years, dramatically increasing the likelihood of future
dilutive equity raises.
- A Distraction from Quanterix’s Biggest Growth
Opportunity: The Company stands at a critical moment in its
Alzheimer’s diagnostic expansion, requiring full focus on FDA
approval, reimbursement, and commercialization – not the
acquisition of a struggling peer.
- Illusory Synergies with High Execution Risk: Akoya has
already cut its workforce by 35%, leading to declining revenue.
Additional cost reductions risk further destabilization rather than
generating true operational efficiencies.
Ben Natter, Managing Member of Kent Lake, issued the following
statement:
“The Merger terms are indefensible and would permanently impair
QTRX shareholders while depleting nearly $100 million in net cash
to bail out Akoya. We urge the Quanterix Board to abandon this
misguided merger and explore alternative paths that we believe
could deliver superior value, including refocusing on the Company’s
promising organic growth opportunities as a standalone entity or
pursuing a sale of Quanterix at a valuation exceeding $1
billion.
Kent Lake is prepared to take all necessary steps to mobilize
shareholders to vote against the deal, including nominating
directors to the Quanterix Board at the 2025 Annual Meeting. We
look forward to communicating further with our fellow shareholders
in the coming weeks.”
THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION OF AUTHORITY TO VOTE YOUR PROXY.
DO NOT SEND US YOUR PROXY CARD. KENT LAKE IS NOT ABLE TO VOTE YOUR
PROXY, NOR DOES THIS COMMUNICATION CONTEMPLATE SUCH AN
EVENT.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250218947049/en/
For media inquiries, please contact: Ben Natter, 415-799-2720
info@kentlakecap.com
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