Asensus Surgical ($70.9M market-cap) is a medical device company engaged in the research, development, and sale of medical robotic devices to enhance minimally invasive surgery. The company has been burning through cash and is in a challenging situation as it seeks to continue operations and fund the R&D for its LUNA Surgical System program.

Earlier this year, on April 3rd, Karl Storz, a privately held German medical device company, proposed to acquire Asensus for $0.35 per share in cash, totaling $95 million in equity. Karl Storz even provided $20M in bridge financing to help Asensus get through to merger commencement. There appear to be synergies between the two parties, and on June 7th, Asensus’ board of directors accepted the merger agreement. The merger is expected to close in the third quarter of 2024, pending approval from ASXC stockholders.

In the earnings release yesterday, Asensus revealed that it has received 44% shareholder approval and needs more votes to close the transaction:

The Company’s Special Meeting of Stockholders regarding the merger proposal with KARL STORZ was recently adjourned to Tuesday August 20, at 10:00 a.m. (Eastern Time). While we have received proxies for approximately 55% of our outstanding shares with over 80% voted in favor of the merger proposal, we still need more votes to approve the transaction. Approval from a majority of all shares of our common stock issued and outstanding and entitled to vote as of our record date of June 28, 2024 is required for approval.

However, earlier this morning, there was an unusual intraday drop in ASXC's share price. It seems unlikely that there was any material news during market trading hours just one day after the earnings release. This situation is potentially risky; if the shareholder vote doesn't go through, the stock is likely a 0. However, I find the asymmetry in this scenario appealing.

Disclosure: I own share of ASXC