Astra sells Swedish dental unit

22nd Jun 2011 08:46

Pharmaceuticals behemoth AstraZeneca is to sell its dental and healthcare Astra Tech business to DENTSPLY for around $1.8bn in cash.In 2010, Astra Tech recorded worldwide revenue of $535m and normalised earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of $105m, with net assets valued at some $0.3bn at May 2011 rates of exchange.The deal will be treated as "other operating income" in Astra's accounts and will have no impact on the company's guidance for 2011 core earnings per share."Following a comprehensive strategic review, we believe this transaction represents an excellent outcome for AstraZeneca shareholders," said David Brenna, the chief executive officer of Astra. "The high degree of interest and the competitive nature of this process is evidence of the value that the employees of Astra Tech have built in the marketplace," he added.--jh