Drug major Sun Pharma today made a fresh offer to shareholders of Israel's Taro Pharma to buy remaining shares that were not tendered by its shareholders during the latest offer, which expired on Wednesday.
Mumbai-based Sun Pharmaceuticals, through its subsidiary Alkaloida, had made a fresh tender offer to Taro shareholders for acquiring its all outstanding ordinary shares. An offer to buy outstanding shares expired on Wednesday, the drug maker said in statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
"Sun is pleased to be able to finally close the offer," Sun Pharma CMD Dilip Shanghvi said.
At the expiration of the offer, a total of 29,382 ordinary shares, or 0.07 per cent of Taro's outstanding shares had been tendered into the offer.
The new tender offer by Sun begins from today and will expire on September 28, 2010.
"On September 15, 2010, Alkaloida commenced a subsequent offering period for all remaining ordinary shares that have not yet been tendered," Sun said.
The company is offering a price of $7.75 per share, the same as offered in the earlier offer.
The promoters of Taro, the Levitt family, have a 12 per cent stake in Taro. Sun has been been fighting to take control of the Israeli firm since 2008, when their $454 million merger deal failed to materialise.
Sun, which is the single largest shareholder in Taro with a 36 per cent stake, has received a favourable ruling from the Israeli Supreme Court regarding an open offer by its arm, Alkaloida Chemicals, to acquire all the outstanding shares in the firm, paving the way for it to gain control of Taro.
"We will now make every effort to consummate our option agreement to purchase the Levitts' controlling shares of Taro," Shanghvi added.
Sun has offered to buy 4.8 million shares of the Levitt family at a price of $7.75 per share, for a consideration of $37 million.
The company will go for a management change as soon as it is able to complete the share transfer.
Sun Pharma had struck a $454 million merger deal in 2007, but it was unilaterally terminated by the Israeli firm in 2008.
After this, both companies had filed various legal suits against each other.
In 2008, Sun Pharma had launched an open offer for acquiring additional shares of Taro, which was challenged in the Supreme Court. The SC prohibited Sun Pharma from closing the offer until it gave a ruling.
Following the court ruling, Sun said the open offer for Taro will expire on September 14, which could be extended by 10 to 20 business days.
Shares of Sun Pharma were trading at Rs 1,800 on BSE in late afternoon trade, up 3.1 per cent from its previous close.
