Paris - Allergan has rejected Valeant Pharmaceuticals’s unsolicited takeover proposal, saying the offer “substantially undervalues” the maker of the Botox wrinkle treatment.
The bid, which valued Allergan at $45.7 billion (R472bn) in cash and stock when it was announced, created “significant risks and uncertainties” and was not in the best interest of shareholders, the California-based target firm said in a statement yesterday.
Allergan expected earnings a share to rise 20 percent to 25 percent in 2015 with double-digit revenue growth, it said.
“We believe Allergan is in a great spot,” David Maris, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets, wrote in a note. “Valeant’s prospects of completing this deal are less than 50 percent.’’
Allergan had been rebuffed by companies that it had contacted to make a competing offer, people familiar with the matter said. Canada-based Valeant’s bid has backing from Pershing Square Capital Management, the hedge fund run by Bill Ackman that is Allergan’s largest shareholder.
Valeant chief executive Mike Pearson took the helm in 2008 and has spent at least $19bn buying more than 35 companies as part of a goal to join the ranks of the five biggest drug makers by the end of 2016.
The Allergan deal would be his biggest acquisition, eclipsing the $8.7bn purchase of eye care company Bausch & Lomb last year.
Laurie Little, a spokeswoman for Valeant, did not immediately return a call for comment.
The deal values Allergan at about $157.37 a share, based on the Friday closing price for Valeant. Allergan fell 1.3 percent to $161.30 in New York on Friday, indicating some investors expect a higher bid.
Allergan shares have gained 14 percent since April 21, before the proposed deal’s broad terms came to light.
Valeant closed unchanged at $131.17 on Friday, and has gained 4.1 percent since April 21. – Bloomberg