MONTREAL — Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. has increased its offer to purchase Obagi Medical Products after Merz Pharma Group made a larger bid for the company.
Valeant and Obagi said Wednesday that under an amended agreement, Valeant raised its tender offer to acquire Obagi from $19.75 to $24 per share in cash. The new offer is slated to expire April 23.
The companies had announced the original acquisition agreement, valued at $360 million, on March 20. That offer represented a 42% premium to Obagi’s closing share price on March 14 and a 40% premium to its 30-day stock price.
On Tuesday, Merz said it sent a letter to Obagi’s board in which it offered to buy the company for $22 per share in cash, a 58% premium to Obagi’s closing stock price on March 14.
That day, Obagi announced that it had received an unsolicited acquisition bid from Merz and that the Obagi board would evaluate the proposal.
Merz, however, said Tuesday that it had been in talks with Obagi. "On March 20, 2013, Obagi announced that it entered into a definitive merger agreement with Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc.," Merz stated. "At that time, Merz was engaged in ongoing discussions with Obagi regarding a potential combination and was not made aware that Obagi was contemplating signing a deal with another party on an accelerated time frame."
A specialty pharmaceutical company, Obagi develops, markets and sells proprietary topical aesthetic and therapeutic prescription-strength skin care systems in the physician-dispensed market.
