Investors in Bristol-Myers Squibb were in a frisson of excitement
earlier this week as speculation mounted - not for the first time -
that the firm could soon become the target of a major
pharmaceutical acquisition.
A major shareholder in Bioenvision could seriously compromise the
biotech company's proposed $345m (€242m) takeover by Genzyme as it
is preparing to vote against the merger arguing the offer is too
low.
PRA said it signed an agreement with equity firm Genstar Capital to
be bought back by the firm for around $790m (€580m) while the CRO
posted a 90 per cent tumble in profit in Q2 due to heavy
restructuring charges.
The current board of directors of Helix BioPharma is being
challenged as the battle between management and one of the
company's major shareholders continues.
The High Court in the UK has granted an injunction to protect
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) shareholders against the recent threat posed
by animal extremists, who contacted investors by mail warning them
to sell their shares in the company.
German chemicals company, Degussa, said that its management board
supported a full takeover by mining company RAG and urged
shareholders to accept an offer price of €42 per share.
CFC International is to be acquired by Quad-C Management in a move
that aims to capitalise on the worldwide demand for CFC
International products that include hot stamp foils and heat
transferable labels for intravenous solution bags,...
Rhodia is facing two separate investigations for alleged accounting
irregularities as well as insider trading, just as the financial
difficulties afflicting the French chemicals group have started to
abate.
Bayer stockholders have cleared the way for the spin-off of
chemical unit Lanxess, with voters holding 99.66 per cent of the
company's capital stock supporting the split.
Fisher Scientific has completed its €3bn merger with Apogent
Technologies, continuing an acquisitive period which has seen it
become one of the top companies in the market for research tools.
Fisher Scientific and Apogent Technologies are to merge in a $3.7
billion (€3.01bn) deal that will double Fisher's footprint in the
high-growth life sciences equipment market, reports Phil
Taylor.
Swiss-American laboratory instrument company Mettler-Toledo saw its
fourth-quarter revenues climb 7 per cent to $370 million (€290m)
although the weak dollar accounted for a large proportion of the
increase.
Caliper Technologies has announced its intention to acquire
laboratory automation, liquid handling and robotics specialist
Zymark in a deal valued at around $71 million in cash and stock.
Strasbourg, France-based Aventis has announced its intention to
sell off part of its remaining stake in Rhodia, its loss-making
former specialty chemicals subsidiary. The move reduces its stake
in Rhodia to 15.3 per cent from 25.2...
