Industry sources say that American Remedies' brand sell-off attempt is being assisted by international consultants, Ernst and Young, part of the $11 billion Ernst and Young group.

Becozinc, which comprises a complex mix of zinc sulphate monohydrate and vitamin B1,B2, B6 etc, registered sales of around Rs 11.2 crore as per ORG data for the period ended July 1998. The brand, which accounts for around 15 per cent of American Remedies' turnover, has a 16 per cent market share in its segment.

While the American Remedies top brass did not respond to a faxed query on this issue from The Financial Express, senior sales officials maintained that consultations with Ernst & Young formed part of a regular interaction to identify measures to boostperformance. "We regularly get consultations from various management consultants like Ernst & Young, either for improving the general profitability of the company or a specific product. Their advice is more general in nature and not pertaining to the sale of the brand," the company official said.

Sources, however, said that negotiations for the proposed sale of the brand were currently on and Becozinc could be of interest to pharmaceutical companies with a strong antibiotic thrust. They add that the company's Rs 3 crore amoxycillin-probenicid formulation brand, Moxilong, is also on the block, though company officials deny that they are scouting for a buyer.Analysts say that the Becozinc brand may possibly interest Indian companies like Ranbaxy Laboratories, Nicholas Piramal, USV and Torrent, though late multinational interest could not be altogether be ruled out. Sales of pharmaceutical brands are usually made at a premium of around 1.5 to two times of the brand turnover.

The Rs 68.22 crore AmericanRemedies shot into the news in early September following frenzied trading activity at the Bombay Stock Exchange. The scrip rose to Rs 60 during that period over expectations of a open offer by an acquirer. The scrip has been moving in the Rs 41- Rs 44 range and closed at Rs 40 on Friday.