It took years of bargaining, but India's Sun Pharmaceuticals and Israel's Taro Pharmaceuticals finally reached a buyout détente. The two generics makers shook hands on a $39.50-per-share cash deal.
For that $600 million, Sun gets the 34% of Taro it doesn't already own. If the deal meets shareholder approval, Taro will go private and delist from the New York Stock Exchange. And Taro will finally fit completely under Sun's wing.
Emphasis should be placed on the word "finally." The companies played hardball for more than three years in a contentious battle that, at one point, found its way to the Israeli Supreme Court. Last month, Taro scoffed at Sun's most recent offer of $24.50 per share, calling it "inadequate."
Obviously, Taro had a point. To win the company over, Sun hiked that offer by $15 per share.
Taro reaped $436 million in generics sales last year, earning a spot on FiercePharma's list of the fastest-growing generics companies. Sun also made that list, and, with 150 new approval applications pending and an appetite for more acquisitions, could keep pace for next year's. A potential merger with Germany's Stada Arzneimittel is on the grapevine, but Sun execs say they're most interested in the U.S., Latin America, and Russia.
Taro trading closed Friday at $40.97 per share, as revenues jumped 43% to $159 million last quarter, according to The Economic Times. As the publication points out, delisting Taro would come as the generics maker's stock performance is peaking.
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Special Reports: Sun Pharmaceutical Industries -- Top 11 Fastest-Growing Generics Companies | Taro Pharmaceutical Industries -- Top 11 Fastest-Growing Generics Companies