Beaufour Ipsen To Acquire Porton Int'l

French pharmaceutical group Beaufour Ipsen has reached an agreement to acquire through Speywood Holding, a new company created specifically for the acquisition, the UK-based biotechnology company Porton International.

Porton made it clear in 1993 that it was seeking a partner, having not met expectations regarding generation of profits and delivery of innovative products. Beaufour Ipsen says that there are strategic advantages to be gained through the acquisition such as: - strengthening the group's sales in specialist markets resulting from the integration of Porton's product portfolio with that of the group; - access to Porton's existing UK and US base, which will improve the combined group's ability to market existing and future products, particularly in the UK and the USA; - access to scientific, R&D and regulatory expertise of Porton; and - an opportunity for the combined group to protect and further develop Porton's business in continental Europe.

Porton is valued at L65.5 million ($106.9 million) or L13.40 per share. Porton senior executives Tony Glover, Alistair Stokes and Zsolt Harsanyi will remain with the business and run it under Speywood. They will also be shareholders in the company.