Salix, Cosmo Pharmaceuticals Agree to End Merger Agreement
Oct. 3 (Bloomberg) — Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd. and Italy’s Cosmo Pharmaceuticals SpA agreed to end a merger agreement, ending a pact that would have allowed the U.S. company to move to Ireland and lower its tax bill.
Under terms of the agreement, Salix will make a $25 million payment to Cosmo, the companies said in a statement today.
Salix is in talks to sell itself to Actavis Plc, people with knowledge of the matter said, after failing to reach a deal with Botox maker Allergan Inc. Though no deal is imminent, an agreement between Salix and Actavis has become more likely in the past week, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information.
Allergan’s effort to acquire Salix stalled in recent days over valuation concerns, two of the people said. Salix’s top selling drug is Xifaxan, a treatment for travelers’ diarrhea.
Under their earlier agreement, Salix would have combined with, and become a wholly owned subsidiary of, Cosmo Technologies Ltd, a subsidiary of Cosmo.
To contact the reporter on this story: Anjali Cordeiro in Hong Kong at acordeiro2@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anjali Cordeiro at acordeiro2@bloomberg.net Dave McCombs
