Taro asks Sun to pay $15 a share for merger

Israeli drug firm Taro Pharmaceutical Industries today asked Sun Pharma to pay $15 per share for merger, while rejecting the $9.5 per share offer proposed by the Mumbai-based firm.

"In an effort to respond to your request for a counter-proposal to your $9.5 per share offer, our board has authorised me to propose a merger price of $15 per share in cash," Taro Chairman Barrie Levitt said in a letter to Sun Pharma Managing Director Dilip Shanghvi.

Shanghvi has already sent two letters to Taro shareholders and its audit committee chairman, in which Sun has proposed to increase the offer price to $9.5 per share, from $7.75 per share it had offered earlier.

"As you know, we believe your proposal woefully undervalues Taro. Moreover, it is frankly hard for our board to consider the price to be a realistic one, in the light of the $10.25 per share that you paid to Brandes for its minority interest, last year," the letter said.

Levitt has written in response to Sun Pharma's rejection to Taro's offer of conducting referendum over the issue of merger agreement and the open offer launched by the Mumbai-based Pharmaceutical firm.

It has also expressed desire to conduct meeting with the representatives of Sun Pharma to resolve the deadlock.

Meanwhile yesterday, Sun Pharma accused the board of Taro Pharmaceutical Industries of trying to 'sidestep' real issues, by calling for referendum.

"It is very obvious that by suggesting a referendum, the Taro board is helping the Levitt/Moros families (the current promoters of Taro) to sidestep the Option Agreement," the Sun Pharma spokesperson said.