A month ago drug maker Ista Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ISTA) rejected a takeover bid of $6.50/share in cash from Canadian drug maker, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (NYSE: VRX) as being “grossly inadequate.” Valeant immediately began a tender offer to Ista’s shareholders. According to Ista’s CEO, Valeant today upped its bid to $7.50/share, and set a “target price” of $8.50/share.
Ista claims to have gotten some takeover interest from other, unidentified bidders, sparking the sweetened bid from Valeant. For its part, Valeant has reiterated its January 31st deadline for its offer of $7.50/share, a premium of about 94% over Ista’s share price on the day the offer was first made.
Ista shareholders have until January 27th to purchase preferred stock under the company’s shareholders’ rights plan. Ista also said that it would continue to review its strategic options, only one of which is the offer from Valeant apparently.
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