Israel’s Taro rejects Sun Pharma’s $367-mn buyout offer

Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd yesterday rejected a $367 million bid from India's generic drugmaker Sun Pharmaceutical Industries for the remaining stake it does already own of the Israeli dermatology company.

Mumbai-based Sun Pharma, India's largest pharmaceutical company by market capitalisation, which already owns 66.3 per cent of Taro, had last October offered to buy the remaining shares for $24.50-per-share.

The Haifa Bay, Israel-based company rejected the proposal saying that the unsolicited, non-binding offer is inadequate and not in the best interests of Taro's minority shareholders.

''Special Committee of Board of Directors unanimously rejected the October 18, 2011 unsolicited, non-binding offer from Sun Pharmaceutical Industries to purchase all of the issued and outstanding shares of Taro not currently held by Sun Pharma for $24.50 per share as inadequate and not in the best interests of Taro's minority shareholders," Taro said in a statement.

In the rarest of rare cases, the Special Committee appointed by the board of Taro to review Sun Pharma's offer took nine months to review and reject the offer although it had appointed Citigroup Global Markets in December 2011 to advice it on Sun's proposal.

When Sun Pharma made the offer on 18 October last year, the proposed purchase price represented a 25.96 premium over Taro's closing price on 17 October 2011 and a 23.80 per cent premium over Taro's closing price in the last 60 days.