Shares bonanza for Amersham

SMALL investors who took a punt on medical technology group Amersham when it was privatised in 1982 were celebrating this weekend.

The company, led by chief executive Sir William Castell, has accepted a £5.7bn bid from US conglomerate General Electric.

Anyone who bought a £1,000 stake when it was privatised will now have shares worth a staggering £70,900.

Amersham, previously known as The Radiochemical Centre, was the first of the Thatcher government's privatisations. At the time its shares were 142p.

But Amersham has grown to become a world leader in genetic science and medical imaging and has taken over or merged with many of its rivals, issuing new stock to shareholders as it did so.

And under the terms of the latest deal, the shareholders are guaranteed £8 value in shares in GE for every Amersham share, even if the price of the US company's stock falls by as much as 21.6%.

If GE's shares fall by more than that level, Amersham's board could simply walk away from the deal with no penalty.

Shares in Amersham surged by 16% on Friday as a result of the bid announcement, closing the week at 760p.