Management Buyout At Leciva

Leciva, the largest pharmaceuticals producer in the Czech Republic, willsoon be owned by its management, which will obtain a 66% stake in the company, according to the CTK news agency's Business News. The firm is currenty owned by the Czech state.

The management buyout team is reported to have offered 2 billion koruna ($58.5 million) for the stake, compared with the market price of 2.3 billion koruna.

The Czech government is understood to have decided to sell Leciva to its management even though a number of foreign companies had expressed an interest in Leciva, and had offered higher prices than the 2.3 billion koruna asking price. The government was also said to be seriously concerned that a foreign owner would take advantage of Leciva's large share of the Czech market in order to put on sale its higher-priced medicines.