April 5, 2003	Saturday	Safar 2, 1424

KARACHI, April 4: The Aventis Pharma (Pakistan) Limited — a stock market listed pharmaceutical company — announced on Friday that it has amalgamated business with another private pharmaceutical firm, the Rhone Poulenc Rorer Pakistan (Private) Limited (RPR). The two have gone to create “Aventis Limited”.

The company said that the Scheme of Arrangement of Aventis and RPR, which had been sanctioned by the High Court of Sindh, became operative on April 1, 2003.

By virtue of the order of the Court, the whole of the undertaking and business of RPR together with all the assets, property, rights, liabilities and obligations of every description of the RPR had been transferred to and now were vested in Aventis.

Following the amalgamation, the RPR had been dissolved without winding up. The name of Aventis had been changed to “Aventis Limited” with effect from the completion date (April 1, 2003).

The Scheme of Arrangement provided that 2.7 million new ordinary shares of Aventis would be allotted as fully paid up shares to the shareholders in the RPR in the swap ratio of 1:6. That is, for each of the ordinary share of Rs100 held by a shareholder in the RPR, six ordinary shares of Rs10 each would be issued in the Aventis Pharma. The allotment of shares would be made by the Aventis within 30 days from the completion date.

The Aventis Pharma with paid-up capital of Rs69.5 million had distributed cash dividend at 35 per cent to the shareholders, for each of the last three years: 2000-2002.

The release of the news of amalgamation of business, made no impact on the price of the share at the stock market, due possibly to limited floating stock. Only 84,400 shares had come up for trading during 2002, and 1800 in the first two months of the current calendar year. The 10-rupee stock currently stands quoted at Rs49.