IBA pulls out of negotiations to hand over Bioassays

Ion Beam Applications (IBA) has put an end to negotiations with a financial consortium seeking to purchase a 60 percent share of IBA's Bioassays business, with the company expressing its contention that the consortium's bids fell short of Bioassays' true worth.

"We have decided to call a halt to negotiations following the demands made by the financial consortium to renegotiate the agreed terms," said Pierre Mottet, CEO of IBA. "These attempts were without foundation and, following the crisis of confidence that this has generated, we found ourselves unable to envisage a future management of the business in partnership," the CEO continued.

Bioassays, which develops technology for in vitro diagnosis and screening for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, will remain within IBA at least for the short-term. The Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium-based IBA left open the possibility that Bioassays would be open for additional negotiations, while attempting to reassure investors and the industry that the company's financial status is stable.

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