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COSCIENS Biopharma Drops U.S. SEC Reporting to Cut Costs
The Toronto-based company filed a Form 15F with the SEC after a share reorganization reduced its U.S. holder count. CEO Peter Puccetti said the focus is on supporting Ceapro's growth and pursuing scale.
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COSCIENS Biopharma Inc. has suspended its U.S. reporting obligations with the Securities and Exchange Commission, a move the company said will produce significant annual cost savings on legal, accounting and insurance expenses.
The Toronto-based holding company, whose main operating subsidiary Ceapro Inc. makes natural oat-based ingredients for personal care and animal-health products, filed a Form 15F with the SEC on July 6. The filing immediately suspended COSCIENS' reporting duties under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Unless the SEC denies the filing, the company's registration under Section 12 of the Exchange Act will terminate 90 days later.
The deregistration came after shareholders approved a share reorganization on June 17 that the company implemented on July 3. The restructuring consisted of a 150-for-1 share consolidation, followed immediately by a 50-for-1 share split. Shareholders who held fewer than 150 pre-consolidation common shares got a cash payment of $1.60 per pre-consolidation share and did not participate in the subsequent split.
Peter Puccetti, CEO and chairman, said the restructuring was meant to improve the company's financial self-sufficiency. "The focus now is to support Ceapro in its growth objectives and to also explore opportunities to achieve greater scale as a publicly-traded company," Puccetti said.