HTDLY - looks like they are still alive!
>>>LONDON (Reuters) - Huntingdon Life Sciences, Britain's oldest drugs-testing firm, says it has struck an eleventh-hour deal with foreign backers, saving it from closure.
The company, which has been targeted by animal rights protesters, had been given until midnight on Friday to repay a 22.6 million pound loan to Royal Bank of Scotland and two unnamed American banks or negotiate an extension.
A Huntingdon spokesman told Reuters on Saturday the company had received foreign, private sector support sufficient to refinance the loan.
The term of the loan has been extended until June 30, 2006. Agreement had also been reached with investors to provide working capital sufficient for the company's needs, he said.
"The company is now confident of its financial stability and prospects for growth," he added.
Science Minister Lord Sainsbury had been spearheading government efforts to save Huntingdon, which employs 1,200 people, from receivership and avert an exodus of pharmaceuticals laboratories from Britain.<<< |
