Roche starts tender offer for Disetronic

Roche has commenced its previously-announced public tender offer toshareholders of fellow Swiss firm Disetronic, based on 670 million Swiss francs ($483.9 million) in cash and two of its non-voting shares for each one held in their company (Marketletter February 17). The total value of the deal is put at 1.60 billion francs and represents a 55% premium on Disetronic's share price ahead of the proposed buy.

Burgdorf-based Disetronic has been a leader in R&D on insulin pumps and injection systems for the treatment of diabetes and its two core businesses generated combined sales of 240.1 million francs in the first nine months of its 2002/3 fiscal year. In addition to its core businesses, the company is pursuing research projects in continuous blood glucose measurement and artificial pancreas technology.

Roche Diabetes Care had total sales of 2.51 billion francs and a growth rate of 14% in local currencies for 2002, and the acquisition will make the Swiss major a leader in integrated diabetes management, the firm says.