Ivax Corporation has acquired indirectly from Recordati (Recordati Industria Chimica e Farmaceutica S.p.A) 469149 shares in Polfa Kutno (Kutnowskie Zaklady Farmaceutyczne Polfa SA), a pharmaceutical company listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. These shares represent almost 25 per cent of the total share capital in Polfa Kutno.

Ivax acquired a wholly owned subsidiary of Recordati, which held Polfa Kutno shares in exchange for shares of Ivax common stock at a price of 340 PLN per Polfa Kutno share.

Ivax, through the subsidiary, has now become the single largest shareholder in Polfa Kutno. Ivax has already received the approval from the Polish Securities and Exchange Commission (Komisja Papierow Wartosciowych i Gield) to acquire more than 50 per cent of the voting power of Polfa Kutno stock and clearance from the Polish Office for Competition and Consumer Protection (Urzad Ochrony Konkurencji i Konsumentow) to acquire control of Polfa Kutno.

Once Ivax' common stock is registered with the Polish Securities and Exchange Commission, Ivax intends to acquire the remaining outstanding shares in Polfa Kutno.