King makes $1.2B public takeover bid for Alpharma, despite Board's rejection

King Pharmaceuticals has made an offer to acquire fellow-US drugmaker Alpharma for $33.00 per share in cash, and is persuing the sale despite the fact that Alpharma's board of directors have refused the offer.

King's all-cash proposal represents a 37% premium over the closing price of Alpharma common stock on August 21, the day before the public offering, and a premium in excess of 38% over Alpharma's average closing price during the previous one-, three- and 12-month periods.

The proposed price implies a total equity value of approximately $1.4 billion for 100% of the fully-diluted share capital and an enterprise value of approximately $1.2 billion. King says the merger could be completed by the end of the year, were it to go ahead.