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The Financial Post reported that Endo International plc has withdrawn its offer for Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLXP). The company decided to do so after Valeant Pharmaceuticals Inc. (TSX:VRX,NYSE:VRX) increased its own bid for Salix to around US$11.11 billion.
The Financial Post reported that Endo International plc has withdrawn its offer for Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLXP). The company decided to do so after Valeant Pharmaceuticals Inc. (TSX:VRX,NYSE:VRX) increased its own bid for Salix to around US$11.11 billion.
As quoted in the market news:
Valeant’s revised offer, which adds about $1 billion in cash for Salix stockholders, will be available through April 7, according to a statement from the companies today. Endo on March 11 offered to buy Salix for $175 per share in cash and stock, surpassing Bridgewater, New Jersey-based Valeant’s initial bid of $158 a share.
Salix is the latest company swept up in a dealmaking rush as pharmaceutical companies chase new drugs. Salix’s biggest products are for gastrointestinal disorders, including Xifaxan for travelers’ diarrhea and Uceris for ulcerative colitis. The Raleigh, North Carolina-based company agreed last month to be acquired by Valeant for about $10 billion in cash.
Thwarted last year in a long-running quest to buy Botox- maker Allergan Inc., Valeant is counting on Salix’s Xifaxan getting an additional use approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, for irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea.
Endo said in a statement:
While we are disappointed with this outcome, we have been and will continue to be disciplined in our approach to potential acquisitions.