A classic example of the willingness to take entrepreneurial risks is the acquisition of Zeneca Specialities by the company´s own management for GBP 1.3bn (nearly EUR 2bn) in what is the biggest ever MBO in Europe. The deal is backed by two large financial investment management companies who, according to insiders, pushed it through against, among others, BASF AG and a major US investor. Zeneca Specialities was originally the speciality chemical branch of the British chemicals group ICI, which split off its biosciences business in 1993 to form the Zeneca Group PLC (15 Stanhope Gate, GB-London WIY 6LN). Only recently, at the beginning of April 1999, Zeneca merged with the Swedish pharmaceutical company, Astra AB. According to in-house figures, AstraZeneca is the world´s third largest company in the pharmaceutical sector. The MBO is the final stage in the restructuring of the group to create a 100% pharmaceutical company. This part of the company has 5,000 employees worldwide and 28 production plants. Sales in 1998 amounted to GBP 686m with an operating result of GBP 90m. The company will be given a new name.

Elsewhere, Zeneca Specialities announced shortly before this that it had secured the exclusive marketing rights to so-called Light Emitting Organics (LEO) from Aventis Research and Technologies GmbH & Co KG (Industriepark Höchst, D-65926 Frankfurt), the research and development company of Hoechst AG. LEOs are polymers which can be made to shine on applying an electric voltage, generating a number of interesting applications in the field of electronics. Aventis has optimised a process to produce these “luminous materials” which opens the way to industrial-scale production. Displays made of LEO are flexible and less than one millimetre thick. Apart from this, the flat light diodes require only one tenth the energy of conventional light sources yet have higher brightness. The LEO technology was designed initially for small and medium-sized displays, for example for mobile phones and electronic personal organizers. This market is currently estimated at USD 2.5bn. The market for LEO technology is expected to reach a volume of USD 300m by the year 2005. At the same time, the Aventis experts are proceeding on the assumption that this class of materials will soon also become available for large displays, signboards and illuminated advertising.

Zeneca is initially to hold a minority interest in Covion Organic Semiconductors GmbH, which was established by Aventis. At the same time, the exclusive production and marketing rights will be contracted out. By doing this, Zeneca Specialities wants to expand its technological base in the field of electronic imaging. Until now, the company has been marketing, among other things, inkjet printers and colour filters. Production will continue at the Aventis site in Frankfurt. Covlon will remain responsible for research and development of new products and for worldwide technical service. Philips is likely to be the first customer to use LEO displays.