Reckitt Benckiser seals $1.4-bn Schiff Nutrition deal
23 Nov 2012
British consumer goods company Reckitt Benckiser yesterday signed a $1.4 billion deal to acquire Schiff Nutrition International after German pharmaceutical giant Bayer AG backed out from a bidding war for the US vitamins maker.
Schiff's board approved Reckitt Benckiser's $42 a share in cash bid and will recommend its shareholders to tender their shares to the superior offer.
The Slough, England-based company said that it would now amend its tender offer documents including removing the conditions relating to due diligence and the execution of a definitive merger agreement.
In late October, Bayer's US subsidiary, Bayer HealthCare, offered to buy Schiff Nutrition for $34 per share, a 47-per cent premium to the Salt Lake City-based company's 29 October closing price of $23.19.
The purchase price included $154.85 million to $167.75 million debt, and the offer was approved by the board of Schiff Nutrition.
Two weeks later, Anglo-Dutch household products and drugs group, Reckitt Benckiser, tabled a $42-per share in cash or $1.4 billion counter-bid - 23.5 per cent higher than Bayer's offer.