Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Pink Sheets: TAROF) is appealing to the Supreme Court against last week's decision by the Tel Aviv District Court in favor of Sun Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (BSE: 524715). The court dismissed Taro's argument that a Sun must make a special tender offer for the company's founding shares.
Sun Pharmaceuticals earlier extended its offer for Taro's share to tomorrow at 5 pm, New York time. Sun Pharmaceuticals says that it only needs to make an ordinary offer for Taro's shares, which means that the number of shareholders accepting the offer is irrelevant.
Taro will also ask the Supreme Court to further extend the deadline for Sun Pharmaceuticals' offer. If the court agrees, this will also postpone the date at which Taro chairman Barrie Levitt and his family will have to sell their founders' share to Sun.
Tel Aviv District Court Judge Michal Agmon-Gonen ruled that it was disingenuous for Taro's directors to claim now, over a year after they approved the transaction, that a special tender offer was required. The directors should have studied the agreements prior to their being signed, and should have confirmed then that they were in the company's best interest.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 1, 2008
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