US conglomerate Honeywell has sold its Arklow pharmaceutical facility, Iropharm, to life sciences firm Sigma-Aldrich.

The all-cash purchase price was not disclosed, but SigmaAldrich said the facility had about $16m ( 13.5m to the end of December 2005) in sales last year.

Iropharm reported sales of 10.2m in 2004, according to the latest accounts filed, and a pretax loss of over 10m. That compared to sales of almost 14.9m in 2003 and a pre-tax loss of 2.4m.

The plant employs 75 people, and Sigma-Aldrich said no job losses would be implemented following the acquisition.

Iropharm manufactures bulk pharmaceuticals, primarily antidepressants, antihistamines and heart drugs.

Sigma-Aldrich manufactures biochemical and organic chemical products and kits that are used in scientific and genomic research, biotechnology and pharmaceutical development.

John Mulligan

ONTARIO LOOKS TO BOND WITH DUBLIN

Ontario's finance minister last week visited Ireland in an effort to drum up investor support as the Canadian province seeks to sell as much as C$21bn ( 14.9bn) in bonds. Dwight Duncan was in Dublin as part of a European tour to other financial centres including London and Zurich. It is the first time that Dublin has been part of an Ontario bond roadshow.

"It's emerging now as a key financial centre and we're hoping to build some links and establish business relationships in Dublin, " said Duncan in an interview with a Canadian newspaper last week.

Ontario aims to raise approximately 25% of the required bonds from international investors. Last year, roughly 20% of Ontario's sales of bonds and notes came from outside Canada. Provincial bonds tend to pay a higher yield than those sold by a country.

JMBRUSSELS SEEKS FEEDBACK FROM IRISH BUSINESSES

The European Commission is to hold a series of information meetings next month with Irish businesses to get their views on the impact of EU legislation and policy. The meetings will allow SMEs to respond directly to proposed EU policies in areas such as patents, intellectual property rights and construction regulation. The meetings are being organised through the Euro Info Centres in locations including Waterford and Galway.

The organisers hope the findings will influence how policy impacting on business is made in Brussels. For more information, go to www. eic. ie.

Kevin Rafter

HOW TO HIT HOME ON THE CONTINENT

Joe Lassiter, Professor of Management Practice at Harvard Business School, will give a masterclass on how Irish businesses can survive the transition to overseas markets and avoid becoming another faceless commodity supplier.

The masterclass will take place at 6.30 pm Thursday, 11 May, at the DCU Ryan Academy.