Alliance evaluates market for offering

Alliance Imaging has decided to hold off on its public stock offering(SCAN 7/31/91). The La Palma, CA, imaging services firm is evaluatingthe financial market to determine an opportune time to re-launchthe financing, according to Richard Zehner, president.

Alliance considers Maxum Health's successful initial publicoffering as a good sign (see story below), although this is incontrast with the financial market's pessimism about Medical ImagingCenters of America (see story, page one). Maxum achieved a "fairprice" in the stock market, Zehner said.

The safe harbor regulations restricting referring-physicianinvestment in medical joint ventures should provide opportunitiesfor companies like Maxum and Alliance, he said. MICA's currentproblems seem to be related specifically to that company's business.

Like many imaging services companies, Alliance is highly leveraged.It could use an injection of equity capital to help fund continuedgrowth of the business.

Alliance borrowed $83 million related to its leveraged buy-outin April 1989, according to the firm's original prospectus forits stock offering. Two years later, $77.3 million of that amountremained outstanding (see graphs).

BRIEFLY NOTED:

• MMI Medical of Corona, CA, discovered accounting misstatementsrelated to its R Squared Scan Systems subsidiary that could trimabout $1 million off of pretax earnings. Consequently, the firmexpects to restate its past earnings for one or more years throughfiscal 1991 (end-May). R Squared is a leading independent serviceorganization for medical imaging equipment.

The misstatement will result in a charge to income. MMI isnot certain what the exact nature or amount of the misstatementwas. The firm postponed its annual meeting next month to preparenew consolidated financial statements, according to Dudley Rauch,chairman and CEO.

• Nycomed reached agreement with investors this month forthe sale of 306,246 shares of Molecular Biosystems (MBI) stock.The Norwegian contrast firm purchased the stock four years agoas part of its licensing of rights to MBI's Albunex ultrasoundcontrast agent. The sale was made for financial reasons and doesnot reflect a change in the licensing agreement, according toOyvin A. Broymer, Nycomed CFO. Nycomed has retained warrants for338,413 shares of MBI stock.

"We continue to have a large equity position and a significantstake in MBI's ongoing growth and progress," Broymer said.