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Deadline Extended in Valeant Offer for ISTA (VRX, ISTA)

Two weeks ago Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (NYSE: VRX) made an unsolicited all-cash offer of $6.50/share for ISTA Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISTA), a maker of eye-care drugs. The offer valued ISTA at around $327 million, including ISTA’s debt, a premium…

By Paul Ausick
Published January 6, 2012, 11:25am ET · 1 min read

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Two weeks ago Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (NYSE: VRX) made an unsolicited all-cash offer of $6.50/share for ISTA Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISTA), a maker of eye-care drugs. The offer valued ISTA at around $327 million, including ISTA’s debt, a premium of 68% over ISTA’s most recent closing price.

ISTA has refused Valeant’s offer, calling it “grossly inadequate” but the two companies have been meeting to discuss a deal. Valeant’s original deadline to shareholders has been extended from January 12th to January 31st.

With ISTA shares trading above $7, Valeant is going to have to sweeten the deal if it expects to have a chance of acquiring ISTA.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

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Paul Ausick

Paul Ausick has been writing for 247Wallst.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.

He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.

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