Dolly the Sheep firm opts for liquidation
The Scottish company that gave birth to Dolly the Sheep is almost certain to enter a members' voluntary liquidation after a key shareholder scuppered its efforts to go private.
Link: No buyer for ‘Dolly the sheep’ business
In a disappointed statement, biotechnology company PPL Therapeutics said it believed the ‘lengthy and uncertain’ process of a members’ voluntary liquidation (MVL) was unlikely to produce much better realisations for shareholders than 5.5 pence per share – its offer under the privatisation proposal.
But PPL said it was now ‘almost certain’ to enter an MVL because a failed attempt to win shareholder support for its plans would deplete funds available for distribution. The news is a blow to the company’s executive directors, who had hoped to take over ownership of the firm.
Dolly became the first successfully cloned adult mammal in 1997, but the euphoria of the achievement was short lived; the sheep died just six years later.
PPL went on to win another first – this time the cloning of pigs capable of providing organs for humans. But the company’s subsequent projects met with less success and it announced losses of £12.8m for the six months ending 30 June last year.