The Applera unit sold 7,222,000 shares of Discovery Partners common stock in a public offering at a price of $5 per share. Celera Genomics took possession of these shares in November 2001after it acquired Axys Pharmaceuticals, which owned them since 2000, according to Celera spokesman Rob Bennett.
Bennett said the companies agreed to the move because DPI wanted to have additional shares on the market for institutional investors, and Celera could find a better use for its money.