Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Valeant (VRX) Bids $5.7B for Cephalon (CEPH)

Valeant Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NYSE:VRX) announced it has made a bid to acquire biopharmaceutical company Cephalon Inc. (NASDAQ:CEPH) for $5.7 billion in cash.

Valeant resorted to airing out its proposed takeover bid after Cephalon rejected its behind-the-scene overtures, saying the offer was too low.

The proposed bid by Mississauga, Ontario-based Valeant amounts to $73 a share and represents a 27 percent premium over Frazer, Penn.-based Cephalon's closing price on Monday.

Valeant said it intends to begin a consent solicitation process next week in an effort to replace Cephalon's board with its own nominees.

It also noted that it has received a letter of financing from Goldman Sachs & Co. (NYSE:GS), which it would use to fully fund a Cephalon acquisition.

Cephalon closed Tuesday at $58.75, up $1.18, or 2.05 percent. In after hours trading it soared to $72.89, gaining $14.14, or 24.07 percent.

Valeant closed at $44.39, up $0.13, or 0.29 percent. It jumped to $51.00, gaining $6.61, or 14.89 percent.




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