London-based pan-emerging markets private equity firm Actis has made a bid for Adcock Ingram, South Africa's second-biggest pharmaceutical company, Business Day reported, quoting an unnamed source close to the deal. Actis has declined to comment. Earlier this month, Adcock said that it was evaluating non-binding proposals from unnamed bidders that could lead to the acquisition of 100% of the company or a controlling stake in it.
Adcock’s board turned down last month a ZAR 6.2bn (EUR 501.4mn) offer for a 60% stake from South African industrial conglomerate Bidvest Group, saying Bidvest’s proposal was not made correctly. It has not received a new proposal from Bidvest, but Bidvest has said it hoped that Adcock shareholders would be given the opportunity to vote on its previous offer, turning to a potential hostile bid.
JSE-listed Adcock Ingram has been underperforming since 2008, when it was unbundled from South Africa's biggest foods maker Tiger Brands, and analysts have described it as a long-overdue takeover target.
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