American Home Products (Madison, NJ) is to sell about 50 million shares in Seattle-based Immunex. At the same time, Immunex plans to sell 20 million shares in a primary offering. The announcements in mid August propelled Immunex share price downward initially but analysts are still maintaining “strong buy” recommendations. The moves appear to be part of a general tidying up of the relationships between the two companies, a process that will loosen Immunex' ties to its de facto parent. American Home's ownership will fall to 45% from 53% now and it will lose one of its three seats on the board; it will acquire a manufacturing facility in Rhode Island from American Home. The billion or so dollars it will raise will enable Immunex to invest over $500 million in an R&D center in Seattle to increase its production capability for its rheumatoid arthritis treatment Enbrel, and to pursue acquisitions or collaborations.
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Hodgson, J. AHP sells Immunex stake. Nat Biotechnol 18, 912 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/79322
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/79322