AKZO NOBEL MAY SPIN OFF ORGANON

The Dutch company Akzo Nobel announced that it will call a general meeting of its shareholders to vote on whether to spin off Organon, the firm's pharmaceutical business.

The shareholders will be asked on Sept. 7 to approve a plan to separate Akzo Nobel into two independent companies -- Akzo Nobel, specializing in coatings and chemicals, and Organon BioSciences, specializing in pharmaceuticals. The company announced in February that it intended to separate its pharma business but now says it prefers to do this by divesting 20 percent to 30 percent of Organon BioSciences shares by early 2007 and listing it on the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange. This is to be followed by a full separation within two to three years.

Organon is developing an experimental antipsychotic drug called asenapine in partnership with Pfizer. The drug could generate more than $1 billion in annual sales when it is approved, and some analysts think this helps make the company worth up to 9 billion euros ($11.6 billion).