Pharmacy Daily | Sigma Aspen deadline today

INVESTORS in Sigma Pharmaceuticals are today on tenterhooks awaiting a decision on whether South African firm Aspen Pharmacare will formalise its indicative offer for the company. Aspen’s exclusive due diligence period evaluating Sigma finishes today, after already having been extended by almost a week (PD Tue). The non-binding offer valued Sigma at just over $700m, with Aspen indicating it would pay 60c per share for the company. But analysts are clearly not expecting the offer to be formalised, with Sigma trading today at just 39c per share - 33% below the non-binding approach from Aspen. Incoming Sigma chief Mark Hooper has indicated that he would prefer to turn the company around once he takes up his new role in September, signalling that Sigma may reject any offer anyway. Today’s Financial Review quotes “several sources” saying that Sigma is continuing to offer generous trading terms to pharmacy groups in order to build its market share. Sigma is also understood to be soliciting bids for its Herron and Orphan divisions.

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