ALTANA AG: Extraordinary General Meeting Approves Sale of Pharmaceuticals Business.* Decision on Strategic Realignment re·a·lign tr.v. re·a·ligned, re·a·lign·ing, re·a·ligns 1. To put back into proper order or alignment. 2. To make new groupings of or working arrangements between. of the ALTANA Group BAD HOMBURG Bad Hom·burg A city of west-central Germany at the foot of the Taunus Mountains near Frankfurt. It is a famous spa and resort. Population: 53,200. , Germany -- The shareholders of ALTANA AG (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :AAA AAA: see American Automobile Association. (Triple A) A common single-cell battery used in a myriad of electronic devices of all variety. Like its double A (AA) cousin, it provides 1.5 volts of DC power. When used in series, the voltage is multiplied. )(FWB (Fixed Wireless Broadband) See fixed wireless. :ALT)(GER GER German/Germany GER Gastroesophageal Reflux GER Geriatrics GER General Education Requirement GER Great Eastern Railway (UK) GER Gross Enrollment Ratio (education) GER Gain Electrons Reduction :ALT) today approved the sale of ALTANA Pharma to Nycomed at the Extraordinary General Meeting in Frankfurt. In his speech, Dr. Nikolaus Schweickart, President and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of ALTANA AG, explained to the shareholders the main reasons for the sale of the pharmaceuticals business and the determining factors for the decision of the Management Board with respect to the strategic realignment and separation of the Group. The significant changes in the underlying conditions within the pharmaceuticals industry were, among other things, a major consideration. These include increasing research and development costs, ever stricter requirements by the regulatory authorities, especially in the U.S., growing competition from suppliers of generics and regimentations resulting from government health policies, particularly in Germany. In addition to these external factors, Dr. Schweickart also referred to the internal developments underlying the decision: the patent expiry of Pantoprazole in the most important markets in 2009/10 will create a product gap, and hence a gap in sales and earnings, which cannot be filled in time by new products from own research. Projects to compensate for this, such as the acquisition of smaller businesses or the in-licensing of product candidates have not been achievable on acceptable terms. Following intensive evaluation of all options, the sale to Nycomed proved to be a targeted long term combination and sustainable solution for ALTANA Pharma. The closing of the transaction is expected by December 29, 2006, the transfer of the business by January 1, 2007. "The approval of the sale of the pharmaceuticals business by our shareholders and the strategic realignment with a focus on the specialty chemicals business will result in a substantial change of the Altana-Group structure. This step is the result of long-term strategic considerations," said Dr. Nikolaus Schweickart. This press release is also available on the Internet at www.altana.com. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion