Forum Archive Index - March 2001

["DR" <kat47@bigfoot.com>]

Dolly the Sheep firm raises £45m to buy New Zealand lambs

By Chris Hughes

17 March 2001

PPL Therapeutics, the biotech group famous for creating Dolly the Sheep, yesterday unveiled a long-awaited share sale, and said it had won a contract from the US government to develop antibodies against biological weapons.

Analysts said the continuing weakness in world stock markets meant PPL faced a tough challenge ahead in persuading investors to participate in the share offering, aimed at raising £45m.

"Fund managers can get away with murder in this market," said Julie Simmonds, an analyst at Beeson Gregory, the stock broker. "They will have to sell the shares at a huge discount [to the market price]," she added.

Shares in PPL fell 8.5p to 148p in anticipation of the dilution that would follow the issue of new stock. PPL said it expected to reveal the price of the offering's shares on 10 April. Deutsche Bank is underwriting the offer.

PPL, which is headed by chief executive Ron James, specialises in cultivating human proteins within sheep's milk. It said it needed the cash to acquire another sheep flock in New Zealand. It also needed to fund tests of the wound sealant acquired from Bristol-Myers Squibb, the US drugs group, last year. Last week, AorTech, a rival biotech group, abandoned a share offering aimed at raising £64m, blaming market conditions.

PPL reported losses of £11.2m last year, down from £14.4m and revealed a $3.1m (£2m) contract with the US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency to produce antibodies against biological weapons in cattle.

D.