BIOTECH CO. SERONO TO ISSUE MORE SHARES

Swiss biotechnology company Serono, which has been the focus of takeover speculation for months, said Friday it planned to issue up to 7 billion Swiss francs ($5.4 billion) in new shares to increase capital and possibly fund its own acquisitions. Serono said its decision to issue up to 7.62 million new shares "could result in a sale of, merger of, or one or more acquisitions by, the company," it said. WJLA.com (http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0306/315283.html)