NEW YORK, Sept. 27, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Arcadia Capital Advisors, LLC ("Arcadia"), a shareholder of Accelrys, Inc., ("Accelrys", or the "Company") (Nasdaq:ACCL), and its managing director, Richard S. Rofe ("Rofe"), announced that they have sent a letter to the Accelrys Board of Directors ("Board") urging the Company to return value to its shareholders through either a share buyback program or one-time special dividend.
Arcadia's letter stated that Accelrys had excess cash on its balance sheet, which, according to Rofe, would be better spent in a shareholder distribution rather than in the pursuit of acquisitions. "Management should eliminate the temptation of this potential distraction [of pursuing acquisitions] and demonstrate its commitment to this merger of equals by returning excess cash to the shareholders," Rofe said in the letter, referring to the recent merger with Symyx Technologies ("Symyx") (Nasdaq:SMMX). According to the letter, Accelrys reported over $160 million cash and short term investments on its balance sheet in its latest earnings call.
Arcadia's letter also pointed out that former Symyx shareholders and current Accelrys shareholders should be rewarded for their patience in light of the recent stock performance relative to market indexes after the completion of the merger. "Today, shareholders should be rewarded for having been deprived of the near-term value and certainty of the Certara offer," Rofe continued, referring to an offer for Symyx made by Certara Corporation in June. The letter pointed out that Certara's offer for Symyx would have equaled an Accelrys stock price of $7.37 per share.
Click the attached link for the letter: https://irm.ipreo.com/OpenFileLink.aspx?ID1=9a88a6e685e24e10be399f210f2304db&ID2=68355112
About Arcadia Capital Advisors
Arcadia Capital Advisors is a private investment firm based in New York that employs a value-oriented investment philosophy in the management of long/short hedge funds focused on small and micro-cap companies. The firm is led by Richard Rofe and is sponsored by M.D. Sass-Macquarie Financial Strategies.
CONTACT: Arcadia Capital Advisors Kelly Sinclair (516) 466-5258 info@arcadiacap.com