ROMEOVILLE, Ill., March 25, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nanophase Technologies Corporation (Nasdaq:NANX), a technology leader in nanomaterials and advanced nanoengineered products, today reported that it has reached an agreement that will provide $4 million in cash to the company, $440,000 higher than the carrying value of those securities. The Company expects this agreement to be finalized over the next several days with funding to occur shortly thereafter.
Student loan backed auction rate securities ("SLARS" or "ARS") had been considered by many to be conservative short-term investments equivalent to cash, until the market disintegrated in early 2008. Nanophase held $6 million in ARS at the time the market ceased, and has been working to convert these securities to a more liquid form for the last two years.
Jess Jankowski, CEO of Nanophase, said, "When the market stopped functioning we recorded an 11% write down on the value of these securities. We sold one of the three bonds, each having a $2 million face value, during 2009 and realized an additional 3% loss on that sale. I am pleased to announce today that we reached an agreement to sell the remaining two bonds to the firm involved in the original transaction for $4 million, $440,000 higher than their carrying value on our books. We recorded this gain as a subsequent event on our December 31, 2009 financials, as more fully described in our SEC filings."
The arbitration hearing scheduled for April 2010 with respect to these securities has been cancelled. Nanophase has agreed to waive any and all claims, including the loss on the one security that was sold during 2009. "We will avoid the use of additional resources in an unproductive dispute," added Jankowski.
"The most important element is that we believe we have resolved this problem and eliminated an unnecessary distraction. Having access to this cash puts us in a stronger position going forward, allowing us to continue focusing on building our business and expanding our marketing efforts. We look forward to discussing progress in this regard during our upcoming investor call scheduled for later today," finished Jankowski.
Year End 2009 Conference Call
The Nanophase conference call is scheduled for March 25, 2010, at 4:00 p.m. CDT, 5:00 p.m. EDT. The conference call dial-in number for U.S. callers is 877-312-8776 and for international callers is 408-774-4007. The conference ID is 61366966. Please dial in to the conference at least five minutes before the call is scheduled to begin.
The call may also be accessed through the company's website, at www.nanophase.com, by clicking on the link under News Center and Calendar of Events to listen to a webcast of the event.
About Nanophase Technologies
Nanophase Technologies Corporation (NANX), www.nanophase.com, is a leader in nanomaterials technologies and provides nanoengineered solutions for multiple industrial product applications. Using a platform of patented and proprietary integrated nanomaterial technologies, the Company creates products with unique performance attributes from two ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001 facilities. Nanophase delivers commercial quantity and quality nanoparticles, coated nanoparticles, and nanoparticle dispersions in a variety of media.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains words such as "expects," "shall," "will," "believes," and similar expressions that are intended to identify forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Safe Harbor Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements in this announcement are made based on the Company's current beliefs, known events and circumstances at the time of publication, and as such, are subject in the future to unforeseen risks and uncertainties that could cause the Company's results of operations, performance and achievements to differ materially from current expectations expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the following: a decision by a customer to cancel a purchase order or supply agreement in light of the Company's dependence on a limited number of key customers; uncertain demand for, and acceptance of, the Company's nanocrystalline materials; the Company's manufacturing capacity and product mix flexibility in light of customer demand; the Company's limited marketing experience; changes in development and distribution relationships; the impact of competitive products and technologies; the Company's dependence on patents and protection of proprietary information; the ability to satisfy and maintain minimum listing requirements of the NASDAQ Global Market; the failure to execute the ARS settlement; the resolution of litigation in which the Company may become involved; and other factors described in the Company's Form 10-K filed March 25, 2009. In addition, the Company's forward-looking statements could be affected by general industry and market conditions and growth rates. Except as required by federal securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements to reflect new events, uncertainties or other contingencies.