Endo Withdraws Offer for Salix Pharmaceuticals

The Financial Post reported that Endo International plc has withdrawn its offer for Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd.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.

Click here to read the full Financial Post report.