ARISES THE ASTRAZENECA: THIRD WORLD GROUP IN MEDICINE DIVISION

Still combination times within the pharmaceutical sector. The Swedish group Astra and the English one Zeneca will act a merger, thus arising the AstraZeneca. The control of the new company will be due to the Zeneca's shareholders since they will own the 53,5%, while the shareholders of the Swedish multinational will own the remaining 46,5%. The union of the two pharmaceutical houses moves the world classification again. If the AstraZeneca will be in fact “only” at the sixth place for world sales, nevertheless it will become the third group in the medicine sector behind the Merck Group and the Glaxo Wellcome. the 'aggregate' proceed of sales of the new company would have been in 1997 equal to 15,9 billions dollar. The company that will be listed at London, New York and Stockholm will have its head office and operation centre in England.