The management team at Northern Ireland pharmaceutical group Galen did not wait very long to sort out the "price problem" alluded to by finance director Geoffrey Elliott at the recent results briefing.

And what was that problem? Too many shares held by too few people with the result that institutional investors could not get their hands on Galen stock. This technical imbalance in the share had driven the price up to levels where most analysts thought that it was too rich.

Chairman Allen McClay, chief executive John King and Mr Elliott effectively controlled almost 65 per cent of Galen shares, meaning that only 37 per cent of the shares were free-floating. Now with six million new shares being offered to institutions and directors selling seven million shares "at the behest of institutional investors", the free float will rise towards 49 per cent with the directors retaining just over 55 per cent.

But despite offering these shares at 590p sterling, the Galen share has remained stubbornly high at 625p.

Speculation in the market is that Messrs McClay, King and Elliott would like to see the directors' shareholding fall further, but next time through a merger. Galen had to pull out of a union with the Dutch group Ferring last year, which would have left Galen shareholders with one third of the enlarged company. Talk in the market is that Galen is looking towards the US for a possible merger partner.