Immunex files to issue new shares, AHP stake to drop
SEATTLE, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Immunex Corp. (NasdaqNM:IMNX - news) announced on
Wednesday plans for the issuance of up to 70 million new shares of its stock and said
American Home Products Corp. (NYSE:AHP - news), now the majority owner of the
biotechnology company, would see its ownership stake fall.
Seattle-based Immunex said it filed a shelf registration statement allowing it to sell up to 20
million shares of newly-issued Immunex common stock in a primary offering and AHP, which
is based in Madison, N.J., to sell up to 50 million shares in a secondary offering.
``The combined effect of the equity offering, if and when executed, is expected to reduce AHP's ownership stake in Immunex
from approximately 55 percent to approximately 43 percent,'' Immunex said in a statement.
If AHP's ownership falls below 45 percent, AHP will retain two of its three seats on the Immunex board and the number of
independent directors would rise to four from three.
Other elements of the new arrangement include the future sale by AHP to Immunex of AHP's recently acquired biotech
manufacturing facility in Rhode Island, financing guarantees to third party lenders of up to $550 million toward the cost of
Immunex's proposed new research and technology centre in Seattle, and AHP's conversion of its existing $450 million convertible
subordinated Immunex note into Immunex common stock concurrently with the financing guarantees.
biz.yahoo.com
16:27 [AHP,IMNX] AMERICAN HOME PRODUCTS FILES SHELF REGISTRATION TO SELL 50 MLN SHARES OF IMMUNEX
16:27 [AHP,IMNX] IMMUNEX FILES SHELF REGISTRATION TO SELL 20 MLN SHARES OF ITS COMMON STOCK
Trading down after hours.
Seems as if bios may be under pressure a bit in the near term. |
