SeraCare Life Sciences Inc. added healthcare veteran and private equity investor Harold Blue to its managing board.
Blue, a principal at HealthEdge Investment Partners of Tampa, Fla., will join the board of the Milford-based diagnostic services company even as it endures a year-long stock freefall.
SeraCare opened April 14 trading at $0.36 per share, despite a slight bump from news of Blue’s appointment—a far cry from its former $11-per-share glory days in June.
One reason for the slide is likely Harbinger Capital Partners‘ massive dump of SeraCare shares.
The New York hedge fund is run by notorious short-seller Philip Falcone, a well-known “vulture trader,” according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Falcone is famous for making big bets on foundering companies and then agitating for management changes.
Falcone made headlines in 2007 with the news that he personally made more than $1.5 billion shorting the housing market. The Minnesota native’s profile has increased significantly since then with a minority stake in the national Hockey league’s Minnesota Wild franchise and his estimated $49 million purchase of a mansion once owned by Penthouse magazine publisher Bob Guccione.
According to SeraCare’s most recent proxy statement, Falcone’s Harbinger partners owned more than four million shares, amounting to a 23 percent stake.
But Harbinger and Falcone went on a selling spree over the past six months: The company divested itself completely of SeraCare stock, according to a February 25 filing. The flurry of activity by the company’s largest shareholder was difficult for a micro cap company like SeraCare to ride through, according to company CFO Gregory Gould.
“In a market where people have been spooked for the last six to 12 months,” Gould said. “It did not help.”
Gould added that having Blue on the board would be valuable because he has deep connections in the industry and with other financiers. However, he added that the company wasn’t looking to raise any additional funding at this time.
“We’re just focused on operations,” he said. “There’s nothing on the books at this time.”
