FINLAND'S ORION TO SPIN OFF WHOLESALING AND MARKETING

The board of Finnish pharmaceuticals group Orion is to propose to the shareholders to spin off the drugs wholesaling and healthcare product marketing operations under Oriola-KD, Orion said in a stock exchange statement Monday. The new Orion would concentrate on pharmaceuticals and diagnostic tests. The companies would be listed in the Helsinki bourse in the summer of 2006.

Newsroom Finland (http://newsroom.finland.fi/stt/showarticle.asp?intNWSAID=10313&group=Business)