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Biotech / Medical : Monsanto Co. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Professor Dotcomm who wrote (2001)	5/5/1999 9:07:00 AM
From: jopawa	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2539

Monsanto (NYSE:MTC - news) gained $2.12 to $47.58 after the agricultural-biotechnology company announced that it is doesn't expect to spin off its Searle drugmaking unit. The decision prompted several analysts to upgrade the shares including Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette, which has a twelve-month price target of $60 per share, and Salomon Smith Barney, which has a $55 per share price target. Both cited Searle's contributions to earnings growth for the recommendations.

To: Professor Dotcomm who wrote (2001)	5/5/1999 9:08:00 AM
From: jopawa	Respond to of 2539

Tuesday May 4, 7:39 pm Eastern Time INTERVIEW - Monsanto plans to cut back on spending CHICAGO, May 4 (Reuters) - After two years of heavy spending on acquisitions and new product development, life sciences firm Monsanto Co. (MTC - news) said Tuesday it planned to tighten the purse strings. ''For the last couple of years, we have invested a huge sum of money in both the ag business as well as the pharma business,'' Gary Crittenden, chief financial officer of St. Louis-based Monsanto, told Reuters in a telephone interview. ''We are now in a position where we are beginning to realize the fruits of those investments,'' he said. ''The theme for the next few years is going to be to realize the full commercial success of the things that we've developed.'' In the last two years, Monsanto has spent about $8 billion to acquire four seed companies that complement its lineup of genetically modified seeds and Roundup herbicide. Monsanto has also invested heavily in its Searle pharmaceutical division, which earlier this year launched arthritis treatment Celebrex, one of the best selling new drugs of all time. The heavy spending, coupled with a failed merger with cash-rich drug company American Home Products Corp. (AHP - news) last summer, left Monsanto saddled with debt. The company had planned to sell about $1 billion in assets to help raise much-needed cash, but said on Tuesday it would now sell $1.5 billion to $2.0 billion worth of its assets. Crittenden declined to name which assets may be on the block, but analysts have long speculated that Monsanto would sell at least part of its nutrition business, which makes NutraSweet artificial sweetener, among other things. The heavy debt burden has also weighed on Monsanto's stock, which has yet to return to the $63 a share level where it was trading soon after its agreement to merge with American Home. The stock gained $2.50 on Tuesday to close at $48 after Salomon Smith Barney raised its rating on Monsanto to buy from outperform. Monsanto held a meeting with analysts this week to outline its new strategy. Crittenden said the company expects sales growth in its agricultural and pharmaceutical businesses to drive higher profits in the next three years. Products such as Celebrex are already adding to the bottom line. Monsanto said last month it expected second quarter and full-year profits to be slightly above analysts' expectations, thanks in part to impressive sales of Celebrex. Crittenden said Searle continues to work on other uses for Cox-2, the key ingredient in Celebrex, which may also help treat colon cancer and Alzheimer's disease. Monsanto's Roundup herbicide, one of its best-selling products, should continue to generate 8 to 12 percent sales growth, despite the fact that Monsanto's patent on it expires next year, Crittenden said. Monsanto has forged agreements with several potential competitors to supply the active ingredient in Roundup, which should help maintain sales even after the patent expires, Crittenden said.

To: Professor Dotcomm who wrote (2001)	5/5/1999 9:09:00 AM
From: jopawa	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 2539

Tuesday May 4, 8:51 pm Eastern Time Company Press Release The RiceX Company Announces Preliminary Venture Agreement With Monsanto EL DORADO HILLS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 4, 1999--The RiceX Company (OTC:RICX - news) announced today that it has signed an agreement to establish a preliminary joint venture (PJV) with the Monsanto Company (NYSE:MTC - news). The purpose of the agreement is to determine the feasibility of commercializing the rice bran stabilization technology of The RiceX Company in India. Under the terms of the agreement, The RiceX Company will send two stabilization systems and operating personnel to India to demonstrate the capability of the Company's proprietary technology. The demonstration period is expected to last approximately six months. Upon successful completion of the demonstration it is the intent of the parties to form a Joint Venture to stabilize abundant raw rice bran supplies in India which are currently being used as low grade animal feed. Charles F. Hough, Business Development Head -- Nutrition and Consumer Sector for Monsanto, commented, ''We are keenly interested in expanding our activities in India. The RiceX technology could be a vehicle for the Monsanto Company to contribute significantly to the nutritional wellbeing of the people of India. We are excited with the prospects of converting a low value resource like raw rice bran into a stable and nutritious food source.'' Dan McPeak, Chairman and CEO of The RiceX Company, also commented, ''Currently there are nearly 10 million metric tons of rice bran available in India that could be stabilized via our technologies. Stabilization of the bran will lead to a series of nutritious value added food products for human consumption in India without the need to plant one more seed or harvest one more acre of rice. We are pleased to be associated with Monsanto in this venture. Monsanto brings significant capability to the project and enhances our chances for success.'' The RiceX Company manufactures and distributes nutritionally dense foods and food ingredients made from its stabilized rice bran that add significant nutritional benefits to food and consumer products. The Company believes it is the only company in the world that can deliver rice bran products derived from rice bran with the shelf life an nutritional profile demanded by most commercial users.