Elan shareholders approve buy back, Royalty bid lapses

A bid from Royalty Pharma (New York, N.Y.) to acquire Elan Corp. plc (NYSE:ELN) lapsed after Elan shareholders approved the biotech's proposal to repurchase $200 million in shares. Royalty was seeking to acquire Elan for $13 per share in cash plus a contingent value right (CVR) worth up to $2.50, which would have valued Elan at up to $7.9 billion. The bid was contingent on Elan shareholders rejecting all four transactions including the share buyback that Elan has proposed since Royalty's offer was unveiled in February.

Royalty had been seeking to make its offer contingent on Elan shareholders rejecting only two of the proposals: the acquisition of rare disease company AOP Orphan Pharmaceuticals AG (Vienna, Austria); and Elan's proposal to pay Theravance Inc. (NASDAQ:THRX) $1 billion for a 21% interest in royalties Theravance is eligible to receive from partner GlaxoSmithKline plc (NSE:GSK; NYSE:GSK) for four respiratory programs. The Irish Takeover Panel denied Royalty's request, but Royalty said the Irish High Court is scheduled to hear proceedings on Wednesday for a judicial review of the takeover panel's decision. ...