CONNAUGHT AGREES TO $ 800 MIL. CASH OFFER FROM INSTITUT MERIEUX; the tender offer begins Sept. 28 at a premium of about 24% over the cash proposal advanced by the Ciba-Geigy/Chiron joint venture JV VAX on Sept. 15. Noting that the board has advised shareholders not to accept the $ 643 mil. proposal from JV VAX, Connaught said Sept. 25 that it would proceed with the previously announced stock swap with Institut Merieux, agreed to in principle last spring following an aborted hostile bid. The Ciba-Geigy/Chiron joint venture currently holds a 9.4% stake in Connaught. Merieux begins tender offer with about 12%, or 2.8 mil. shares, of Connaught. In a Sept. 25 release, Institut Merieux said that Connaught BioSciences has agreed to reimburse the company about $ 8.5 mil. should the offer not be successful. At the same time, the French firm noted that it has offered certain "commitments" to the Canadian government "with respect to capital expenditures, R&D, external research collaboration, production, technology transfers, marketing export, employment and security of supply of vaccines." To buy the Canadian government's approval, Institut Merieux is making five commitments: the construction of a new $ 25- $ 30 mil. biotechnology center near Toronto within five to seven years; the retention of the current manufacturing facility and employment levels; the transfer of production of Institut Merieux products to Connaught for the North American market; a study of the feasibility of establishing a blood fractionation plant in Canada; and expansion of Connaught's outreach programs to universities and research institutions. Merieux said that following the acquisition it will divest Connaught's interest in Bio-Research Labs, "with preference given to a Canadian purchaser," and evaluate whether or not to keep Connaught's 35% stake in Nordic Labs. Nesbitt Thomson Deacon is acting as the investment banker for Institut Merieux in Canada, with Lazard Freres the dealer/manager in the U.S.
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Advanz Pharma would have had to show that the European Commission’s decision to revoke Ocaliva’s conditional marketing approval risked causing serious and irreparable harm, according to lawyers from Van Bael & Bellis.
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