Ozone sale on finishing straight

Shareholders of drug maker Ozone are negotiating the sale of the company with American manufacturer Valeant, but are also considering integrating it into A&D Pharma, another business they control, according to market sources. Ozone, with turnover worth around 30 million euros in 2007, produces drugs by renting out production lines of other companies. The shareholders made the first steps towards selling the company in the summer of last year when they hired Rothschild investment bank to assist them in this process. They hoped to secure around 80 million euros for the full stake, but, although several companies showed an interest, none of them offered such a high sum. At a later stage, the shareholders lowered their expectations to around 30 million euros, and even considered selling the company piece by piece. Currently, negotiations are underway with American producer Valeant, with business of over 800 million dollars in 2007.