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Asahi Glass Co., Ltd.
Tokyo, JAPAN - Asahi Glass Co., Ltd. (AGC, Head Office:
Tokyo, President: Shinya Ishizu) and Mitsubishi Corporation
(MC, Head Office: Tokyo, President: Mikio Sasaki) announced
today that, as a step to strengthen each companies' fluorinated
fine chemicals business for pharmaceutical and agrochemical
intermediates, they have reached an agreement with British
Nuclear Fuels plc (BNFL, Head Office: Warrington, Cheshire,
Chief Executive: John Taylor) to acquire all shares in BNFL's
100% subsidiary, F2 Chemicals Ltd. (F2, Head Office: Preston,
Lancashire, UK, Managing Director : Bill Denison), which
possesses various unique and innovative fluorine related
technologies. AGC and MC have agreed to purchase all shares
in F2. Total value to be paid by AGC and MC group for this
transaction will be approx £5 million (900 million Japanese
Yen) and have signed the share purchase agreement on Jan
31, 2000.
AGC has, in the field of fluorinated chemicals, integrated
production processes from raw materials, fluoride, and placed
fluorinated chemicals business as one of the "Grow businesses" in
its mid-term corporate plan "Shrink to Grow 2001".
Not only having been actively involved in the vast area of
fluorinated chemicals business, including fluorinated resins,
AGC is also putting a lot of its resources into the business
of pharmaceutical and agrochemical intermediates and bulks.
MC has a subsidiary specialized in the manufacture of fluorinated
fine chemicals, Miteni S.p.A (Miteni, Head Office: Milano,
Italy, President: Junichi Komamura), and intends to extend
its performance in the production and sales of fluorinated
fine chemicals, including pharmaceutical and agrochemical
intermediates and electronics chemicals.
On the other hand, BNFL regarded F2 as non-core subsidiary
and was seeking for a purchaser of F2. AGC and MC expected
that F2's unique fluorinated gas application technologies
would become essential keys to distinguish themselves in
the global competition and add the synergetic effects to
the fluorinated chemicals business of each group, and decided
to jointly acquire F2 to expand applications of those technologies.
Main technologies of F2 are as follows:
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1. |
Fluorination technology using cobalt
fluoride |
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The fluorination technology using cobalt fluoride
is applied to produce perfluorocarbons for refrigerants,
for electronic chemicals, including those for the production
of semiconductors, and for recently developed application
for ultrasound contrast agents. F2 is widely known
for the strength of the said technology as well as
its GMP based production facilities. The said technology
is also expected to be applied for the production of
new fluorinated monomers and for the improvement of
a variety of polymers. |
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2. |
Selective direct fluorination technology
("SDF") |
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SDF is the technology to introduce a fluorine atom
selectively into a specific part of organic compounds
by employing fluorine gas, which is generally recognized
difficult to handle with. Compared with other existing
fluorination technologies, such as those using HF (hydrogen
fluoride) or KF (potassium fluoride), SDF can shorten
the production process while using lower-cost raw materials.
SDF is highlighted as the new production process for
the production of pharmaceutical and agrochemical intermediates
and compounds for LCDs. |
After the completion of this transaction, AGC will own 51%
share and MC group (MC 34%, Miteni 15%) will own 49% share
of F2. F2 will continue its business in its own name, F2
Chemicals Ltd. F2's annual turnover for the year ending December
1999 is estimated at about 500 million Japanese Yen, and
AGC and MC will actively support F2's R&D and marketing
to double its sales within 5 years.
For further information, please contact:
Dr. Arata Yasuda
Director, Fine Chemicals
Performance Chemicals General Division , Asahi Glass Co., Ltd.
12-1, Yurakucho 1-chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8405, Japan
Tel: 81-3-3218-5380 / Fax: 81-3-3218-7843
Mr. Jun Nishizawa
Deputy Manager, Press Relations Office , Mitsubishi Corporation
6-3, Marunouchi 2-chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8086, Japan
Tel: 81-3-3210-2172 / Fax: 81-3-5252-7705
(Information)
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1. |
F2 Chemicals Ltd. |
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| (1) Address |
Preston, Lancashire, UK |
| (2) President |
Mr. Bill Denison |
| (3) Capital |
£6 million (as of Sep.30, 1999) |
| (4) Shareholders |
British Nuclear Fuels plc 100 % |
| (5) Main Products |
- Perfluorocarbons for refrigerants, electronic
chemicals and ultrasound contrast media
- Fluorinated intermediates for pharmaceutical & agrochemical
agents
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| (6) Annual Sales |
£2.26 million (Financial Year 1998) |
| (7) Establishment |
1992 |
| (8) Employees |
46 persons (as of Sep.30, 1999) |
|
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2. |
Miteni S.p.A |
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| (1) Address |
Milano, Italy |
| (2) President |
Mr. Junichi Komamura |
| (3) Capital |
13 billion Lire |
| (4) Main Products |
Fluorinated fine chemicals Fluorocarbons |
| (5) Annual Sales |
83 billion Lire (Financial Year 1998) |
| (6) Establishment |
1988 |
| (7) Employees |
191 persons |
|
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3. |
Ultrasound Contrast Agents |
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The principle of the ultrasound diagnosis is based
on detection of the reflection which is generated when
ultrasound wave passes through the substances having
different impedance with blood or living organisms.
Utilization of a variety of PFC's was found very efficient
to obtain a stable and safe contrast agent, which is
expected to provide clearer and more integrated information
in diagnosis, coupled with the progress of image techniques. |
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4. |
GMP |
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GMP(Good Manufacturing Practice) is the standardized
processes and conditions for manufacturing the pharmaceutical
chemicals in good quality. According to the advice
by WHO(World Health Organization) in 1969, GMP is now
adopted worldwide as the necessary conditions for the
production of pharmaceutical chemicals. |
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