Acacia to Spin Out CombiMatrix as Independent Public Company

NEW YORK, Jan. 9 (GenomeWeb News) - Acacia Research said today that its board of directors has approved a plan for its CombiMatrix microarray subsidiary to become an independent public company.

Acacia said it expects the transaction to close in the second quarter of 2006, subject to receiving a "satisfactory tax opinion from legal counsel" and other conditions.

If these conditions are met, Acacia will redeem all of the issued and outstanding shares of Acacia Research-CombiMatrix common stock, which trades under the ticker symbol CBMX, for all of the common stock of CombiMatrix, which will list its shares for trading on Nasdaq.

The spin-out "will benefit both companies by eliminating the risk factors associated with the current capital structure," Paul Ryan, chairman and CEO of Acacia, said in statement. The separation of the two companies is also expected to make the firms more attractive to investors, he said.