Oxford Molecular offloads assets in $27m deal

Oxfor Molecular, the British biotechnology group, is to liquidate its assets and relinquish its name after finding a buyer for its remaining interests.

Oxfor Molecular, the British biotechnology group, is to liquidate its assets and relinquish its name after finding a buyer for its remaining interests.

The company expects to return between 41p and 44p per share to shareholders after selling its software solutions division for $27m (£18m) to a unit of the US firm Pharmacopeia.

Earlier this year the British plc announced a £26m loss on a turnover of £20m. Last month it sold its Discovery Solutions division to Millennium Pharmaceuticals for $50m, and will sell the entire issued share capital of Oxford Molecular Ltd and Oxford Molecular Group Inc, comprising its software solutions division and trademark, to Pharmacopeia. The remaining company, consisting mainly of cash on deposit, will be renamed OM 2000.

Oxford Molecular's finance director Lawrence Steingold said delay in getting products to market, combined with over-expansion and inefficiences, had led to the wind-down. "We thought long and hard ... and realised we needed to be part of a larger organisation. This sale is the culmination," he added.

Oxford Molecular's shares closed up 3.5p at 34.5p.