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Biotech / Medical : Oxford GlycoSciences Plc -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: nigel bates who wrote (446)	4/9/2003 12:54:22 PM
From: nigel bates	Respond to of 469

By Mark Potter LONDON, April 9 (Reuters) - Britain's Celltech Group Plc stood by its 101.4 million pound ($158 million) hostile bid for biotech rival Oxford GlycoSciences Plc (LSE: OGS.L - news) on Wednesday, despite a three-week delay in the timetable for its offer. OGS's biggest asset is its cash pile, which stood at 136 million pounds at December 31. Every month, the firm's costs eat up an estimated three million pounds, reducing its attractiveness to potential buyers. The UK Takeover Panel said on Wednesday it had granted a request from OGS to delay the publication of its 2002 results to around April 29, effectively pushing back the final closing date for Celltech (LSE: CCH.L - news - msgs) 's bid to about May 20 from April 30. Under UK takeover rules, OGS had been due to publish its 2002 results by April 9. But an industry source said the firm needed more time, having been preoccupied by the bid battle surrounding the business. The battle, the first in Britain's 20-year-old biotech sector, was kicked off in January by a 110 million pound all-share offer from Cambridge Antibody Technology Group Plc . But a steep fall in CAT's shares has slashed the value of its bid to 74 million pounds, taking it out of the running. Celltech, Britain's biggest biotech firm, entered the fray in February, and then OGS said in March it had received three further approaches, including one from British biotech investors Chris Evans and Alan Goodman. Celltech said it was disappointed by the delay and urged OGS shareholders give their support ahead of the final deadline. "Celltech's offer is the only one on the table, and therefore OGS's shareholders should not be further delayed in accepting (the bid) by OGS's inability to get its prelims (annual results) out in a timely manner," a spokesman told Reuters. Celltech shares have fallen around 11 percent since it launched its bid for OGS. At 1533 GMT, the shares were 1.4 percent lower at 291 pence. RIVAL BID NEXT WEEK? An industry source told Reuters last week that entrepreneurs Evans and Goodman planned to bid between 107 million and 114 million pounds for OGS. The source said on Wednesday the bid was unlikely to be put on the table until early next week. Some analysts have questioned whether the entrepreneurs will launch a firm offer. "I'm sceptical," said Sam Fazeli, an analyst at Nomura, pointing out that the costs of a deal -- such as investment banking fees and breaking up OGS -- might prove too much as OGS steadily runs down its cash reserves. But a source close to Evans and Goodman said the two were serious contenders. "It's a bid intention that's being pursued very vigorously," the source told Reuters. OGS shares were unchanged at 197p per share, well above Celltech's bid of 182p per share and signalling investors still expect Evans and Goodman to table a bid.