The senior management of UK pharmaceutical company Goldshield Group plc (LSE: GSD) today kept their promise to make a counter bid for the company. Earlier this week, they asked shareholders not to respond to the offer by Israel's Fuhrer family, made through AIT Investments Ltd.
Goldshield today announced, "The Management Team can confirm it has secured the backing of investment funds managed by HGCapital LLP to provide equity funding for any possible offer, has final credit approval from a consortium of lenders and confirms that any possible offer will be in excess of ₤4.40 per share."
AIT offered ₤4.40 per share in cash for Goldshield, a manufacturer and distributor of non-prescription drugs. The Fuhrer family owns Israeli drug distributor NeoPharm Ltd. When the offer was announced, questions were raised about the ability of Goldshield's managers to secure financing for a counter-offer, especially in the current market climate, but today's announcement gave the answer.
The announcement that Goldshield's managers will make a higher offer than the Fuhrer's for the company has thrown down the gauntlet. Goldshield CEO Rakesh Patel has thrown the ball back into the Fuhrers' court, and it remains to be seen how they will respond, and if they will wage a bloody fight for the British company or decided to let its management have it.
Goldshield's share rose 3.8% today to ₤4.66.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 23, 2009
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