OTHER NEWS - Oct. 12, 1995

Fisons Agrees to Takeover by Rhone-Poulenc Rorer: Fisons, which had rejected previous Rhone-Poulenc Rorer offers, said it agreed to the French-U.S. company’s latest bid, of $2.9 billion, after talks with a potential “white knight” collapsed. Fisons Chief Executive Stuart Wallis gave no specific details on which firm had considered striking a deal. Some analysts said the announcement of an aborted rescue deal may have been a face-saving exercise for Fisons. The takeover deal, ending a bitter battle between the two companies, comes after Fisons had initiated a restructuring that appears to have turned the Suffolk, England-based company around. Rhone-Poulenc Rorer would gain a strong position in the respiratory market by capturing Fisons’ state-of-the-art inhaler technology and its sales and marketing force.