Adcock Ingram: ‘Several parties’ in acquisition talks

Adcock Ingram was in active talks with “a number of parties” that might result in the pharmaceutical company’s sale, chairman Khotso Mokhele said on Friday. “The process we have put in place, which has been designed to ensure appropriate confidentiality in relation to Adcock Ingram’s commercially sensitive information, is aimed at providing certainty” for shareholders, employees and suppliers, Mokhele said. Adcock said on May 9 that it had received non-binding proposals that could lead to an offer for all stock or a controlling stake, sending the company’s shares to their highest level in more than two years. The Public Investment Corporation, its biggest shareholder, said on May 14 that it would prefer a South African firm to buy Adcock. Bidvest Group, whose offer for a controlling stake was rejected by Adcock in March, still wanted to acquire the firm and wanted access to the same information that was made available to other bidders, chief executive Brian Joffe said on May 10. Adcock’s shares closed unchanged at R68.50 on Friday. – Bloomberg