Business
The Westaim Corporation update on status of short-term investments
CALGARY, Nov. 2 /CNW/ - The Westaim Corporation announced today the receipt of an offer, subject ...
About this update from Westaim Corporation
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\nCALGARY, Nov. 2 /CNW/ - The Westaim Corporation announced today the\nreceipt of an offer, subject to final documentation, for a credit line of\n$12.6 million from a major financial institution. The credit facility will be\navailable for one year and will be secured by the equivalent value of\nasset-backed commercial paper (ABCP) held by the Company.\n\n\nWestaim previously announced that it held $19.7 million in ABCP. In\nSeptember, the Company realized proceeds of $2.8 million upon the maturity of\ncertain of its holdings, reducing its current ABCP holdings to approximately\n$17 million. These securities, which met the criteria of The Westaim\nCorporation's investment policy at the time of purchase, have been rated R-1\n(high) by DBRS Limited. However, the market for $35 billion of third-party\nABCP has been frozen since mid-August and until the paper is restructured, or\na market otherwise forms for this ABCP, Westaim cannot be certain of the\nultimate value it will realize for its holdings.\n\n\n"While Westaim currently has sufficient non-ABCP cash and liquid\ninvestments, this facility greatly improves our liquidity and provides us the\nflexibility we need going forward," said Drew Fitch, President and CEO of\nWestaim. "We will continue to closely monitor the commercial paper situation\nand examine the optimal use of existing resources and assets."\n\n\nAt June 30, 2007, Westaim had a total of $33.9 million in cash and\nshort-term investments, excluding the cash equivalents held by its 74.8 per\ncent owned affiliate NUCRYST Pharmaceuticals Corp.\n\n\nThe Westaim Corporation's technology investments include iFire Technology\nCorp., which is developing a low-cost flat panel display technology, and a\n74.8 per cent interest in NUCRYST Pharmaceuticals Corp. (NASDAQ: NCST; TSX;\nNCS), which develops, manufactures and commercializes medical products that\nfight infection and inflammation based on its nanocrystalline silver\ntechnology. Westaim's common shares are listed on The Toronto Stock Exchange\nunder the trading symbol WED.\n\n\nThis news release contains forward-looking statements. These statements\nare based on current expectations that are subject to risks and uncertainties,\nand Westaim can give no assurance that these expectations are correct. Various\nfactors could cause actual results to di...