Bidvest: Partners still deciding on Adcock offer

BIDVEST had yet to decide on whether to make an offer to raise its stake in drug maker Adcock Ingram, it said yesterday. Bidvest is a conglomerate that spans shipping to catering and with a group called Community Investment Holdings (CIH) owns 34.5 percent of Adcock Ingram, South Africa’s second-largest drug maker. A document from the competition regulator seen by Reuters on Thursday said Bidvest intended to increase that to more than 50 percent. Increasing the stake to 35 percent would force Bidvest and CIH to make a buyout offer to Adcock Ingram’s minority shareholders. Bidvest and CIH said in a statement the Competition Tribunal “had approved the future acquisition of control of Adcock Ingram” by the pair but no offer was on the table. “Given the ongoing uncertainty concerning the current trading performance of Adcock Ingram, the consortium (Bidvest and CIH) continues to evaluate its position, but has not determined whether to make a general offer to Adcock Ingram shareholders,” Bidvest said. – Reuters