Dutch-based Ferring Pharmaceuticals, a drug development specialist which is "actively considering" an initial public offering this year or next, could be rubbing shoulders with a raft of similar firms in Europe eyeing a possible flotation.
Frederik Paulsen, chairman of Ferring, said he is hoping to use an IPO to help expand his business and possibly embark on acquisitions. The company has already made plain its expansionist intentions, by bidding - albeit unsuccessfully - for drug outfit Galen Holdings in 1998. However, Paulsen set no firm timetable for a listing nor has it named a favoured exchange.
