Rediscovering Cambridge Chemistry

Signature BioScience Inc. does not believe its purchase of Cambridge Discovery Chemistry Inc. represents third-hand goods, even though the company or its parent Cambridge Discovery Chemistry Ltd. have been acquired three times in the past four years. Instead, Signature views the deal as opportunistic, as former owner Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc. was looking to unload California-based Cambridge Discovery Chemistry Inc. in order to consolidate its chemistry in the larger U.K. operations of Cambridge Discovery Ltd.

In 1997 and 1998, Oxford Molecular Group plc acquired Cambridge Discovery Chemistry Ltd. in two rounds for a total of £14.4 million ($24.3 million) in cash and stock. Last year, MLNM acquired Cambridge Discovery Ltd. (and with it Cambridge Discovery Inc.) for £35 million ($53 million) in cash, a 143% increase (see BioCentury, July 10, 2000). ...