Ascendis anchor investor dumps another R140m worth of shares
The share has climbed from recent lows, partly on optimism that the forced sales of stock were slowing
Ascendis Health’s anchor investor, private equity firm Coast2Coast, said last week it had been forced to offload another R140m worth of the health-care company’s shares. Since November Coast2Coast has had to sell about R231m worth of Ascendis shares, equal to 8% of the health-care company’s market capitalisation on Friday. Coast2Coast CEO Gary Shayne, also an Ascendis director, and his spouse have been forced to sell the shares to meet obligations to lenders since the stock was used as collateral for loans. Ascendis’s shares slumped through 2018, partly on concerns about high debt levels and tepid organic growth. The sell-off was compounded by the forced share sales, which were mostly triggered by margin calls. By December 12 the company’s share price had reached a record low of R3.26. But the stock has since climbed, partly on optimism that the forced sales would slow. It closed at R5.95 on Friday. Shayne said earlier in January the forced share sales were coming to an end. He said...
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