Ivax in Agreement to Acquire B2bstores.com

Generic drug maker Ivax Corp. said it has formed a definitive agreement to acquire Long Beach-based business-to-business company B2bstores.com for an undisclosed amount in a move to take its Ivax Diagnostics unit public. The Net operations of B2bstores.com, which laid off employees and slashed spending in August, would be discontinued. Ivax would gain B2bstores.com’s assets. Ivax President Neil Flanzraich said the Miami-based company was not gaining a distribution network through the acquisition but said the purchase was “a vehicle to make Ivax Diagnostics a public company.” B2bstores.com would issue 20 million shares of common stock to Ivax in exchange for outstanding shares of Ivax Diagnostics. If the deal closes, Ivax Diagnostics would purchase B2bstores.com and parent Ivax would gain 68% of the combined company’s equity. B2bstores.com never posted a profit and its shares have fallen 77% since it went public in February. Ivax shares rose 60 cents to close at $37.75 on the American Stock Exchange.