
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, May 3, 1994                   TAG: 9405030124
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: C-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: PALO ALTO, CALIF.                                LENGTH: Medium

SWISS DRUG COMPANY WILL ACQUIRE SYNTEX

Syntex Corp., a pioneering drugmaker founded by scientists who developed oral contraceptives, will be acquired by Switzerland's Roche Holding Ltd. in a deal valued at $5.3 billion, the companies said Monday.

It was one of the largest takeovers announced this year and comes against a background of rapid change in the U.S. pharmaceutical industry, where health care reform is forcing drugmakers to align themselves with powerful partners.

Under the deal, Syntex shareholders would receive $24 per share of common stock, representing a premium of about 57 percent over Friday's closing price on the New York Stock Exchange.

The company's stock surged $8.371/2 Monday to $23.621/2 in extremely heavy trading. Nearly 32 million shares were traded.

The deal is subject to conditions, including Roche's acquisition of a majority of Syntex shares and government approval. Syntex's board of directors is recommending stockholders tender their shares and vote in favor of the merger. ``The proposed combination of our companies would help us see that patients everywhere have access to the new drugs we have discovered and are developing,'' said Paul Freiman, Syntex chairman and chief executive officer.

Syntex is involved in developing, manufacturing and marketing prescription pharmaceutical products, animal health products and medical diagnostic systems.

The company's scientists-founders invented the birth-control pill in the 1950s. It has more than 9,000 employees, with research subsidiaries in Palo Alto and overseas in Scotland, Mexico and Japan. Syntex's leading prescription pharmaceutical products are naproxen, a medication to treat inflammation and pain, and the pain reliever Toradol.Other Syntex products include medicines to treat allergies and cardiovascular diseases.

Total worldwide sales in fiscal 1993 were $2.1 billion, 70 percent of that in the United States. Pharmaceutical sales accounted for approximately 85 percent of Syntex's worldwide sales. Syntex's net income in fiscal 1993 was $287 million.

The international Roche Group is a leader in research-based health care.

by CNB