Nycomed seeks new cash for Solvay buyout 'sources?

According to the Reuters news service, Switzerland's Nycomed plans to draw on buoyant junk bond markets and new cash from its private-equity owners to fund a buyout of Solvay's drugs unit, people familiar with the matter said.

Such a structure would allow Nycomed - which already has billions of euros of syndicated loans - to bypass the moribund leveraged loan market and would create a group with some 6 billion euros ($8.6 billion) in yearly sales. It would also yield up to 5 billion euros for Solvay, the Belgian drug and chemical maker, which first admitted it was exploring a sale of Solvay Pharmaceuticals in April, Reuters comments.

Nycomed is likely to lodge a binding offer worth roughly 4 to 5 billion euros for Solvay's drugs business in September, one of the people said, funded through equity, debt and cash.