Wyeth Lederle, Geoffrey Manners In Merger Mode

Drug maker Wyeth Lederle is exploring the possibility of merging Geoffrey Manners & Co with itself.

The move follows the pharmaceutical and healthcare products company's decision to introduce new over-the-counter (OTC) products as well as line extensions of existing OTC products from the global portfolio of Whitehall International, a subsidiary of the US-based parent, American Home Products Corporation.

The OTC business of Whitehall in India is at present with Geoffrey Manners & Company, an affiliate of American Home Products. Wyeth Lederle has informed the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) that the various options are currently at an exploratory stage and will be pursued if found beneficial to both companies.

Geoffrey Manners & Co 's products include Forhans, brand of oral care, Anne French, the female hygiene brand, and Anancin, an OTC product.

Ahead of the announcement, shares of Wyeth Lederle ended 5.7 per cent up at Rs 190.45 on the BSE.

Wyeth has an equity base of Rs 19.74 crore, while its reserves stand at Rs 132.27 crore. Its net profit increased last year from Rs 26.47 crore to Rs 31.76 crore.

The company reported a turnover of Rs 294.74 crore last fiscal compared with Rs 259.69 crore in the corresponding period of the previous 12-month period, an increase of 13.5 per cent. Its exports, too, increased 25 per cent to Rs 28.11 crore.

Wyeth Lederle has performed well in all the major segments -- hormone replacement therapy, oral contraceptives, antibiotics, vaccines and steroids.

It has set up a new pharmaceutical formulations plant in Goa at a capital expenditure of around Rs 54 crore, with a capacity of 1.3 billion tablets per year. Commercial production is expected to commence in March 2002.