Serono Announces Termination of Discussions Concerning a Sale of the Company
April 10 2006 - 2:02AM
PR Newswire (US)
The Company Will Actively Pursue Opportunities for Acquisitions
GENEVA, Switzerland, April 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Serono
(virt-x: SEO and NYSE: SRA) announced today that its controlling
shareholder, the Bertarelli family, has terminated discussions
concerning a sale of the Company. The family has indicated that the
offers it received did not adequately reflect the future prospects
of the Company. "Moving forward, Serono will invest in its existing
businesses and will actively pursue opportunities for growth
through acquisitions," said Ernesto Bertarelli, Chief Executive
Officer. "I take this opportunity to thank our employees for their
loyalty and commitment to Serono." As previously announced, to
provide the Company with the financing capacity to pursue such
alternatives, the Board of Directors will propose to the
forthcoming annual Shareholders meeting on April 25, 2006 an
increase in the authorized share capital of the Company. As and
when required, the authorized share capital will enable the Board
of Directors to obtain financing rapidly through the issuance of
additional shares. Background material For free B-roll, video and
other content for Serono and its products, please visit the Serono
Media Center http://www.thenewsmarket.com/Serono. You can download
print-quality images and receive broadcast-standard video digitally
or by tape from this site. Registration and video is free to the
media. Some of the statements in this press release are forward
looking. Such statements are inherently subject to known and
unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause
actual results, performance or achievements of Serono S.A. and
affiliates to be materially different from those expected or
anticipated in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements are based on Serono's current expectations and
assumptions, which may be affected by a number of factors,
including those discussed in this press release and more fully
described in Serono's Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on February 28, 2006. These
factors include any failure or delay in Serono's ability to develop
new products, any failure to receive anticipated regulatory
approvals, any problems in commercializing current products as a
result of competition or other factors, our ability to obtain
reimbursement coverage for our products, the outcome of government
investigations and litigation and government regulations limiting
our ability to sell our products. Serono has no responsibility to
update the forward-looking statements contained in this press
release to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date
of this press release. About Serono Serono is a global
biotechnology leader. The Company has eight biotechnology products,
Rebif(R), Gonal-f(R), Luveris(R), Ovidrel(R )/Ovitrelle(R),
Serostim(R), Saizen(R), Zorbtive(TM) and Raptiva(R). In addition to
being the world leader in reproductive health, Serono has strong
market positions in neurology, metabolism and growth and has
recently entered the psoriasis area. The Company's research
programs are focused on growing these businesses and on
establishing new therapeutic areas, including oncology and
autoimmune diseases. Currently, there are more than 25 on-going
development projects. In 2005, Serono, whose products are sold in
over 90 countries, achieved worldwide revenues of US$2,586.4
million. Reported net loss in 2005 was US$106.1 million, reflecting
a charge of US$725 million taken relating to the settlement of the
US Attorney's Office investigation of Serostim. Excluding this
charge as well as other non-recurring items, adjusted net income
grew 28.4% to US$565.3 million in 2005. Bearer shares of Serono
S.A., the holding company, are traded on the virt-x (SEO) and its
American Depositary Shares are traded on the New York Stock
Exchange (SRA). DATASOURCE: Serono International S.A. CONTACT: For
more information, please contact: Corporate Media Relations: Tel:
+41-22-739-36-00, Fax: +41-22-739-30-85, http://www.serono.com/,
Corporate Investor Relations: Tel: +41-22-739-36-01, Fax:
+41-22-739-30-22, Media Relations, USA: Tel: +1-781-681-2340, Fax:
+1-781-681-2935, http://www.seronousa.com/, Investor Relations,
USA: Tel: +1-781-681-2552, Fax: +1-781-681-2912
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