“Elan Corp. (ELN) won an order from a U.S. judge temporarily blocking Royalty Pharma AG from attempting a $6.4 billion hostile takeover of the Irish drugmaker after Elan sued to halt what it called a “coercive” tender offer.
U.S. District Judge William Pauley in Manhattan yesterday issued a temporary restraining order blocking Royalty and related parties from “consummating or closing defendants’ tender offer” for the outstanding shares of Elan. Pauly scheduled a June 11 hearing to consider whether to issue a preliminary injunction.
Pauly’s order came after Elan filed a complaint claiming that Royalty Pharma made “material misrepresentations” in its revised tender offer. Elan said “shareholders who do not tender their shares may find themselves trapped in a company under Royalty Pharma’s control.” The offer gives stockholders until June 6 to determine whether to waive their shares, Elan said.
Elan, which receives royalties on Biogen Idec Inc. (BIIB)’s multiple sclerosis treatment Tysabri, said yesterday in a yesterday won a ruling from an Irish court restraining Royalty Pharma from distributing a proxy to shareholders. Judge Gerard Hogan left the injunction in place at a hearing today in Dublin pending further hearings this afternoon.
Royalty Pharma on May 20 issued a revised proposal to buy the stock of the company at $12.50 per American depositary receipt, raising its bid from $5.7 billion to $6.4 billion.
