Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

ACQUISITION

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ACQUISITION
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2012
Business Combinations [Abstract]  
Business Combination Disclosure [Text Block]

4. ACQUISITION

 

Merger Agreement

 

On April 8, 2011, Novelos acquired Cellectar through a merger with and into the Merger Subsidiary, pursuant to the Merger Agreement entered into on that date.  As a result of the Acquisition, the Merger Subsidiary, which was renamed Cellectar, Inc., owns all assets of and operates the business previously owned and operated by Cellectar.

 

In the Acquisition, the former stockholders of Cellectar received an aggregate number of shares of Novelos common stock constituting approximately 85% of the outstanding shares of Novelos common stock, after giving effect to the Acquisition but before giving effect to the concurrent private placement of Novelos securities described below.  Prior to the Acquisition, Novelos amended and restated its certificate of incorporation and in connection therewith, among other things, effected a 1-for-153 reverse split of its common stock resulting in 2,959,871 shares of Novelos common stock outstanding. Novelos then issued 17,001,596 shares of Novelos common stock to the stockholders of Cellectar upon the effective date of the Acquisition.  Warrants and options to purchase Novelos common stock that were outstanding prior to the Acquisition remained outstanding following the Acquisition. These consisted of warrants to purchase a total of 315,164 shares of Novelos common stock with prices ranging from $16.07 to $191.25 and options to purchase a total of 49,159 shares of Novelos common stock with prices ranging from $1.53 to $1,072.53.

 

The financial advisor to Cellectar in the Acquisition, received a cash fee of $200,000 upon the completion of the Acquisition in consideration of their services.  The financial advisor to Novelos in the Acquisition, received a cash fee of $250,000 upon the completion of the Acquisition in consideration of their services.  These amounts were recorded as merger costs and expensed as incurred on the date of the Acquisition.  In addition to the investment banking fees, the Company also incurred an additional $296,207 of merger-related legal and other costs during the year ended December 31, 2011 which were included as a component of expense in the respective period.

 

The Acquisition was completed principally to leverage synergies between Novelos’ strategic focus and experience in developing and funding the development of cancer drugs and Cellectar’s portfolio of cancer-targeted compounds.

 

Purchase Accounting

 

The Acquisition was accounted for using the purchase method of accounting as a reverse acquisition.  In a reverse acquisition, the post-acquisition net assets of the surviving combined company includes the historical cost basis of the net assets of the accounting acquirer (Cellectar) plus the fair value of the net assets of the accounting acquiree (Novelos).  Further, under the purchase method, the purchase price is allocated to the assets acquired, liabilities assumed, and identifiable intangible assets based on their estimated fair values with the remaining excess purchase price over net assets acquired allocated to goodwill.

 

The fair value of the consideration transferred in the Acquisition was $2,219,903 and was calculated as the number of shares of common stock that Cellectar would have had to issue (adjusted for the Exchange Ratio) in order for Novelos shareholders to hold a 15% equity interest in the combined Company post-acquisition (but prior to the concurrent private placement), multiplied by the estimated fair value of the Company’s common stock on the acquisition date.  The estimated fair value of the Company’s common stock was based on the offering price of the common stock sold in the private placement which was both completed concurrently with and conditioned upon the closing of the Acquisition.  This price was determined to be the best indication of fair value on that date since the price was based on an arm’s length negotiation with a group consisting of both new and existing investors that had been advised of the pending Acquisition and assumed similar liquidity risk as those investors holding the majority of shares being valued as purchase consideration.

 

The following table summarizes the Company’s determination of fair values of the assets acquired and the liabilities as of the date of acquisition.

 

Consideration - issuance of securities   $ 2,219,903  
         
Prepaid expenses and other assets   $ 71,892  
Fixed assets     6,515  
Accrued liabilities     (380,130 )
Derivative liability     (59,485 )
Goodwill     1,675,462  
         
Total purchase price – net of cash acquired of $905,649   $ 1,314,254  

 

The Company determined that the acquired Novelos legacy technology had no value as of the date of the acquisition.

 

Goodwill

 

Of the total purchase price of $2,219,903, $1,675,462 was allocated to goodwill. Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price of an acquired business over the fair value of the underlying net tangible and intangible assets. The goodwill includes the value of the Novelos work force (management team). None of the goodwill associated with the Acquisition is deductible for income tax purposes.

 

There were no changes in goodwill during the year ended December 31, 2012 or 2011, after the initial purchase accounting.

 

The Company is required to perform an annual impairment test related to goodwill which is performed in the fourth quarter of each year, or sooner if changes in circumstances suggest that the carrying value of an asset may not be recoverable. During the fourth quarter of 2012, the annual test was performed and it was determined that there had been no impairment to goodwill.