Valeant Pharmaceuticals plans to acquire Salix Pharma
Wednesday, February 04, 2015
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. is exploring a takeover of Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd., people with knowledge of the matter said, in the wake of the U.S. drugmaker’s recent inventory-accounting restatement and management shakeup.
The Canadian drugmaker has discussed with advisers its interest in an acquisition of Salix, which has a market value of about US$8.4 billion, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. Valeant, which lost a takeover contest for Allergan Inc. last year, is wary of paying too high a price for Salix and may not reach a deal as a result, one of the people said.
Valeant could face rival bids for Salix, which makes drugs to treat ulcerative colitis and travellers’ diarrhea and is nearing approval for a potential irritable bowel syndrome treatment. Shire Plc is also interested in Salix, which was targeted by other buyers last year, two people said.
Representatives for Valeant, Salix and Shire declined to comment.
Salix shares rose 3.4% to US$138.20 at 12:13 p.m. in New York after climbing as much as 6.1% on the report by Bloomberg News. Valeant fell less than 1% to US$161. Shire’s American depositary receipts climbed 1% to US$224.25.
Valeant has used acquisitions such as the US$8.7 billion purchase of eye-care company Bausch & Lomb Inc. in 2013 and the US$2.6 billion takeover of skin-care product maker Medicis to plug a wider range of offerings into its distribution network, helping squeeze out costs. Last week, the company emerged with the lead offer for the assets of Dendreon Corp. a bankrupt developer of a drug for advanced prostate cancer.
Source:http://business.financialpost.com/
