Bain, Cinven to raise Stada takeover offer to 66.25 eur/shr: Reuters

Stada said buyout groups Bain Capital and Cinven would sweeten their takeover offer for the German generic drugmaker by 25 cents per share to 66.25 euros after their previous 5.3 billion-euro ($6 billion) bid fell through.

The private equity groups will also lower their acceptance threshold to 63 percent, Stada said on Monday, after the last offer secured the support of 65.52 percent of shareholders, short of the 67.5 percent they had targeted.

Stada shares rose 1.2 percent to 65.30 euros by 0818 GMT, outperforming a 0.4 percent rise in the German mid-cap index.

The newest offer is the latest twist in a takeover saga for Stada – one of the last remaining independent generic drugmakers in Europe – that has seen management upheaval and previous failed offers.

Stada’s chief executive and its head of finance resigned last week after the failure of the latest bid.

Bain and Cinven have applied to German markets regulator BaFin for permission to resubmit another offer without having to adhere to a one year exclusion period, Stada said, adding it consents to the new offer.

Some shareholders including U.S. hedge fund Elliott have bought stakes, speculating on securing a higher price for any remaining stock.

Many buyout firms have been flush with cash after recent rounds of divestments and amid cheap borrowing costs.

Sources have said that Bain and Cinven would look into buying more healthcare businesses to combine with Stada over the medium term, seeking cost cuts that would make the high investment in Stada worthwhile.

Reuters last week said Bain and Cinven were set to launch a revised bid for the German generic drugs maker.