WHITEWORTH/TOWNE-PAULSEN IS BEING ACQUIRED BY INVESTOR GROUP

WHITEWORTH/TOWNE-PAULSEN IS BEING ACQUIRED BY INVESTOR GROUP following the breakdown of merger talks with Zenith, according to a May 20 press release put out by the two generic drug subsidiaries of Whiteworth Internal. The West Coast private investor group has signed a letter of intent to purchase Whiteworth, Inc. and Towne-Paulsen, the release notes. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed; however, the release states, the sale is "expected to be final on June 18, 1985."

The announcement comes in the aftermath of Zenith Labs' press release on May 16, which indicated that the company had terminated negotiations to acquire both Whiteworth, Inc. and Towne-Paulsen. Zenith had announced on April 12 that it had signed a letter of intent for the acquisition of the two generic subsidiaries ("The Pink Sheet" April 29, T&G-18).

The private group of Southern California investors is headed by Douglas Bradshaw and Robert Bradshaw, according to the release, and includes Wayne Dunlap and William Crawford. The Bradshaws also own a California-based food brokerage business, Bradshaw, Inc. The release said that Dunlap will serve as Exec VP of Whiteworth/Towne-Paulsen and have primary responsibility for marketing and sales. Crawford will become VP of manufacturing, R&D and quality control under the new arrangement. A. D. White, current president of the company, will continue as CEO "during a transition period," the release noted.

"We're especially high on the future of the generic drug business and through this agreement we are acquiring one of the finest manufacturing facilities of generic drugs on the West Coast," stated Douglas Bradshaw. Whiteworth and Towne-Paulsen had combined sales of approximately $26 mil. in 1984. In its merger agreement announcement in April, Zenith said that Whiteworth and Towne-Paulsen have not been operating at a profit recently.