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Biotech / Medical : VVUS: VIVUS INC. (NASDAQ) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: OmertaSoldier who wrote (21890)	5/12/1999 3:32:00 PM
From: OmertaSoldier	Respond to of 23519

INTERVIEW-AstraZeneca exit price two times sales LONDON, May 12 (Reuters) - Anglo-Swedish drugs and agrochemicals group AstraZeneca Plc (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: AZN.L) said on Wednesday the sale of its specialties division for $2.1 billion represented an exit price of around 14 times operating profit and twice annual sales, making it one of the best prices achieved in the industry in recent years. In a telephone interview with Reuters, Deputy Chairman Sir David Barnes said the businesses sold to a management buyout team backed by Cinven and Investcorp excluded the Marlow Foods division, makers of the Quorn food ingredient, and a textile dye supply agreement with BASF AG (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: BASF.F) , which is in the process of being run down. ''This is the largest management buyout done in Europe. Having done the largest European merger with AstraZeneca in record time...we've followed through again with creditable competence and speed,'' Barnes said. Barnes also said the sale had no implications for the group's remaining non-drug business, Zeneca Agrochemicals. ''This disposal relates to speciality chemicals and there's no direct implication for agrochemicals which is a strong business -- number three in the world -- in its own right. We will continue to develop the agrochemical business in any way that seems sensible to the board of AstraZeneca.'' Barnes said the short-list for the sale had come down to four, with ''two good alternative bids, but the best in the final was the Cinven/Investcorp proposal.'' Barnes declined to identify the other bidders. >>>He said the group was keeping its options open on how to use its ungeared balance sheet, which will be boosted by post-tax positive cash flow of $1.5 billion.<<< >>>''That will go to strengthen the balance sheet and give us maximum flexibility going forward. Is there a spcific project we have in mind today - no there is not.''<<< >>>Barnes said the funds freed by the sale could be used in a variety of ways, including stepping up internal research and development, licensing in or co-promotion deals on drugs, minor acquisitions and ''territorial infilling.''<<< In a separate interview, Zeneca Specialties Chief Executive Jeremy Scudamore, who has led the management buyout team, said an eventual flotation of the new company was a strong possibility. ''If we can advance our growth plans and make the business as profitable and dynamic as we can, then flotation could be an option,'' he told Reuters. Scudamore said the comapny had strong potential growth areas, including the supply of complex drug intermediates for the phamraceutical and biotech industries and advances in screen display technology, lasers and copying. ''We see growth opportunities for all our businesses.. we see a number of potential acquisitions,'' he said, adding that these would be concentrated in its existing disciplines. Scudamore said a new name for the company had not yet been decided. The group will be based at Zeneca Specialties existing headquarters near Mancehster, north west England. I vote they buy out Vivus for 1.5 Billion!