Acquisition hungry Valeant Pharmaceuticals is continuing in its pursuit of Allergan by extended the bid deadline to December 31, 2014.
Valeant had initially given Botox makers Allergan a deadline of August 15, 2014, to make a decision on its $53bn offer, which was proposed in June.
The announcement extends further the saga between the two companies, which began in April this year with a rejected $45.7bn bid from Valeant – a company that is intent on breaking into the top pharma companies in the world primarily via a series of takeovers.
Since then Allergan, which also has successful, neurosciences and medical aesthetics businesses, has repeatedly turned down various offers from Valeant, forcing negotiations to turn hostile.
Allergan has voiced its concerns over Valeant’s business model of growth by acquisition and streamlining and has initiated several efforts to ward off its potential suitor.
This includes plans to cut its workforce by 13 per cent to convince shareholders of the company’s independence.
And at the beginning of August Allergan filed a lawsuit in the US that claims Valeant’s hedge fund backer Pershing Square Capital – and its owner Bill Ackman – had fraudulently built up a stake in the company ahead of Valeant’s first public offer for Allergan while “fully aware” of the Canadian pharma company’s takeover intentions.