Three senior directors and a registered charity have netted a £100 million sterling (#162.4 million) payout by selling 13.2 million of the shares they held in Galen, the Northern Ireland pharmaceutical company.

Dr Allen McClay, president of Galen, Dr John King, executive chairman and Mr Geoffrey Elliott, chief financial officer, together with the McClay Trust - a registered charity which holds shares in Galen - are in line for the windfall after Galen's latest book-building exercise.

Industry analysts believe Dr McClay and Dr King may realise up to £40 million from the sale of their shares, while Mr Elliott and the McClay Trust will earn a figure below £10 million for their shareholding.

Galen, founded in 1968 by Dr McClay, is made up of two key divisions, pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical services. It also has a clinical trials services business in Ireland and the US.

Since its flotation on the London and Dublin Stock Exchanges in 1997, Galen has built up a loyal following amongst investors, both at home and among the international community.

Galen also has a Nasdaq listing, and its £308 million acquisition of its primary rival in the US, Warner Chilcott, has established it as a significant player in the lucrative healthcare market there.

Despite the fact that they have diluted their shareholding, Dr McClay, Dr King and Mr Elliott will retain a considerable stake in Galen and continue to hold around 30 per cent of the company.

Galen yesterday confirmed it had raised a total of £300 million from its latest share issue.

The group plans to issue 5.6 million of new ordinary shares by way of an open offer and approximately 34.2 million shares through an international offer, chiefly directed at potential and existing investors in the US.

The decision by Dr McClay, his fellow directors and the charity to sell a proportion of their shareholding was largely driven by concerns from US investors about the liquidity of Galen's stock.

However, Galen's international offer was over-subscribed and investors have been warned that their allocation will have to be scaled back because of demand from the market.

Merrill Lynch International has been granted an option to subscribe for up to 6 million additional ordinary shares at the offer price to cover over-allotments.

Galen said the offer price for its latest share issue had been set at 755 pence per ordinary share, a discount of 0.33 per cent on its closing mid-price of 757.5 pence on the London Stock Exchange on Tuesday, July 24th.

The group's shares closed up at 760 pence on the London Stock Exchange last night.

Although Galen raised a total of £300 million from the latest issue, the net proceeds for the group will be closer to £185 million, once commission and expenses are accounted for.

The new equity will help fund the £67 million acquisition of a product from Bristol-Myers Squibb, but Dr John King told The Irish Times that it would also be used to build the business going forward.

"There are three elements involved in this, we want to build the business by organic growth and through our commitment to our research and development pipeline and also by the strategic acquisition of products that will strengthen our position," Dr King said.

According to Mr Jack Gorman, analyst with Davy Stockbrokers, the success of Galen's latest share offering reflects the market's confidence in the group, which has headquarters in Portadown.

"Overall it is very positive that Galen has fulfilled the share offer, notwithstanding the current difficult market conditions," he said.