Elan to raise extra $150m

DRUG firm Elan has increased the size of its bond offering, raising an additional $150 million to pay off its debts.

Elan will now raise a total of $573 million from a convertible bond and rights issue, the proceeds of which will be used to repurchase Elan's Liquid Yield Option Notes, or LYONs. The rest of the cash will be used for general corporate purposes, the company said.

However, even with the extra demand in the market for the issue, the company's shares fell further, they lost 5% on Thursday when the share and bond issue was announced. The shares lost a further 5% on the ISEQ yesterday.