UPDATE 2-Fornix close to allergy unit sale, super dividend

* Lost court appeal over rejected registration of product

* In late stage of controlled auction for unit

* Shareholders to discuss super dividend

* Shares up 5.8 pct

(Adds analyst's comments, shares)

By Aaron Gray-Block

AMSTERDAM, April 23 (Reuters) - Dutch biotech firm Fornix BioSciences (FORBI.AS) said Friday it was close to a potential sale of its allergy unit after losing a court appeal to register its grass pollen product, bringing a super dividend closer. Fornix said in February a court had rejected its appeal against a decision by Dutch authorities not to register its product Oralgen. Chief Executive Cees Bergman told Reuters in January Fornix might have to sell itself if it lost the appeal. [ID:nLDE60P0KG]

The company said on Tuesday that due to the significantly changed situation, the company had studied all options for the group as a whole and the allergy unit and was now in the advanced stages of a controlled auction.

"The expectation is that this procedure can be completed in the short-term," Fornix said in a statement.

Shares in Fornix were up 5.8 percent at 10.16 euros at 0855 GMT to be the third-biggest gainer in Amsterdam, outperforming the Amsterdam market, whose blue-chip index .AEX rose 0.7 percent.

"It seems as though investors can expect a super dividend," SNS Securities analyst Martijn den Drijver said.

Assuming a 50 percent discount due to the uncertainty around the business, Den Drijver said the allergy division could still fetch about 88 million euros ($118.3 million), giving Fornix net cash of 123 million, excluding its annual dividend.

This would exceed the company's market value of 77 million euros, he said, raising the prospect of a super dividend.

Fornix had proposed in March to pay out its 2009 net profit of 11 million euros as a dividend, while also proposing a special dividend of 2.22 euros per share out of its cash reserve of more than 35 million euros, which had been held for possible acquisitions.

It was holding its annual shareholder meeting on Friday to discuss the possibility of a super dividend.

In 2009, the allergy unit generated 68 percent of Fornix's sales and 83 percent of its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT), but if the sale is closed, Fornix would still have its German biologicals unit and its medical aids business, which generated a combined 2.6 million euros in EBIT last year.

AEK analyst Bernd Hilhorst has previously said, however, he expects the divestment of all the company's assets over the next 1-2 years. (Reporting by Aaron Gray-Block; Editing by Hans Peters, Mike Nesbit)