India's Sun completes Taro stake acquisition

The current board is resigning, and appointees of Sun will become directors.

After a drawn-out battle that turned contentious at times, Indian pharmaceutical company Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. has completed the purchase of the stake in Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Pink Sheets: TAROF.PK) that had been held by the Levitt and Moros families.

The deal gives Sun the controlling interest in generic pharmaceuticals company Taro.

Sun and Taro' s board of directors, including members of the Levitt and Moros families, also reached an agreement under which the current members of the board are resigning, and appointees of Sun will become directors of Taro, effective immediately.

Taro chairman Dr. Barrie Levitt said “We are gratified that the company’s operational and financial turnaround leaves it on strong footing and, we think, with a bright future ahead. We are proud of what we have achieved in Taro’s 60 year history, especially in the last three years, and we take heart at the significant value that has been created for our shareholders."

An agreement to sell the Taro stake to Sun was first reached in 2007, but Taro's founders held up the deal. The dispute reached Israel's Supreme Court as well as courts in the US.

The dispute included disagreement over the share price for the deal.

Taro shares closed yesterday at $11.50, giving a market cap of $451.36 million. The share has traded as high as $14.39 in the past 52 weeks.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 24, 2010

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2010

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