Taro takeover can take long, says Sun Pharma

Sun Pharma today said its proposed takeover of Taro Pharmaceuticals could take longer due to legal tussle, while rating the 'probability' of an out of court settlement with the Israeli company very low.

"Going by the behaviour displayed by Taro Pharmaceuticals, its director and the Levitt family and its passion for filing court cases, it appears that ultimate resolution for all issues involved is likely to take quite a bit of time," Sun Pharma Chairman and Managing Director Dilip Shanghvi said.

"I wanted to caution every body that its not something that will get over very soon," he added.

Shanghvi said several options exist before the company "to secure our long-term interests and we remain committed to the completion of this transaction".

Asked if the company would look for other options to grow inorganically of the litigation with Taro took longer, he said: "We don't have such a long timeline but we would continue to look for more opportunity."

Stating that the chances of an out of court settlement with Taro is minimal, he said :"If there was a possibility of settlement from our point of view then I don't think this would have gone into litigation."

He, however, said:"In business one answer is to never say no or that it is not possible, because everything is possible. But if you look at probabilities then I will not give any high probability of any settlement."