Bloomberg
ADCOCK Ingram, the country’s biggest maker of hospital products, said an offer from largest shareholder Bidvest Group for the remaining stock was acceptable and would close on May 8.
Adcock’s board “is of the unanimous view that the Bidvest offer is fair and reasonable to Adcock shareholders”, the drugmaker said in a statement yesterday.
The decision had followed a review by an independent adjudicator, the company said. Adcock shares gained 0.6 percent to R52.32 as of 1.08pm on the JSE yesterday, valuing Adcock at R9.2 billion.
The share price closed 0.48 percent up at R52.25.
Bidvest, a local owner of businesses ranging from car sales to catering, offered R52 a share for 65.5 percent of Adcock on February 23, a deal valued at R5.98bn.
Bidvest earlier built a 34.5 percent stake that thwarted a takeover attempt by CFR Pharmaceuticals of Chile.
“The shares have been in limbo, but this announcement gives a firm timeline,” Kate Turner-Smith, a Cape Town-based analyst for BPI Capital Africa, said.
The Public Investment Corporation and Adcock’s second-biggest shareholder, indicated that it would not accept the offer, Adcock said.
The two investors said last month that they were in talks about joint control of the maker of Corenza flu medicine and Panado pain killers.