Shares of SyStemix Inc. (NASDAQ:STMX) fell $15 to $39.75 onWednesday after Sandoz Ltd. completed its tender offer for 60percent of SyStemix's shares at $70 per share.

The offering was oversubscribed, with Sandoz receiving 7.5million shares, or about 92.6 percent of the shares outstandingon a fully diluted basis. Sandoz accepted for payment about 4million shares, or 53.5 percent of the shares tendered.

Under the merger deal announced in December, the Swisscompany cannot increase its holdings of the Palo Alto, Calif.,developer of stem cell technology for seven years, although itcan offer to buy all remaining shares after three years.

The decline in the share price was due to normal arbitrageadjustment after the tender offer, said Samuel Isaly of Mehta &Isaly. The remaining 10 million shares outstanding are worthabout $40 each, giving SyStemix a market capitalization of$400 million, said Isaly. -- KB

(c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.