Aspen announced yesterday that it has sold its 50 percent stake in an oncology joint venture (Onco Therapies in India and Onco Laboratories in Cyprus) that it got involved in at the end of 2007. The initial investment amounted to USD43m and the sale to Strides reeled in USD117m (R854m). Sounds like a good transaction to me, and the market agreed. The share was up 5.2 percent! Gus Atteridge the company's Deputy Chief Executive said Aspen was not abandoning cancer medicines as a category to distribute, but rather it was moving away from their production and manufacturing. The cash will also bring relief to their balance sheet. The debt to equity ratio is currently 29 percent, so this chunk of money will beef up their bank balances and maybe even allow some scope for more exciting acquisitions.