Specialty drugmaker Salix Pharmaceuticals announced on Oct. 3 that it was doing something unusual: backing out of a merger before it closed. Back in July, Salix (SLXP) had agreed to acquire Cosmo Technologies, the Irish subsidiary of Italian drugmaker Cosmo Pharmaceuticals, in a stock swap valued at about $2.6 billion. The deal would have allowed Salix, like so many of its drug-industry peers, to move its official domicile to
Specialty drugmaker Salix Pharmaceuticals (SLXP) on Friday canceled its buyout of Cosmo Technologies, becoming the first drugmaker to pull the plug on a tax-inversion deal. Salix stock was up more than 3% in early trading on the stock market today. Salix agreed to buy Cosmo Tech, an Irish subsidiary of Italian drugmaker Cosmo Pharmaceuticals, in July via a stock swap. The company planned to use the deal to relocate to Ireland to take advantage of
Salix Pharmaceuticals jumped 6% to a new high above 169 on the stock market today on news that fellow specialty drugmaker Allergan is probably about to buy it. However, one of Allergan’s largest shareholders threatened to sue if the two companies make such a deal. Late Monday, anonymously sourced news reports said that Salix Pharmaceuticals (SLXP) and Allergan (AGN) could announce the buyout late this week or next. Rumors that Allergan is