Valeant raises bid for Allergan values Botox-maker at $49.44 billion - UK source

Valeant raises bid for Allergan values Botox-maker at $49.44 billion - UK source

   May 28, 2014       prabhakardalvi

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(Reuters) - Canadian drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc (VRX.TO) (VRX.N) raised the cash component of its offer for Botox-maker Allergan Inc (AGN.N), valuing the U.S. firm at $49.44 billion (29.51 billion pounds).

Valeant on Wednesday offered to pay $58.30 per Allergan share in cash, about $10 higher than its previous offer of $48.30. The stock component of the offer remains the same at 0.83 of a Valeant share for each Allergan share.

The new offer values Allergan at $166.16 per share as of Tuesday's closing price, and is about 8.6 percent higher than the previous bid of $153 as on April 22 when Valeant first made its offer.

That offer, by Valeant and activist investor Bill Ackman, was worth $47 billion and was spurned by Allergan, which said the Canadian company had overstated the possible savings from the deal.

Valeant's offer on Wednesday is also lower than the price of $180-$200 per share that investors were looking for, according to an investor survey taken last week.

The new offer also includes a contingent value right of up to $25 per share related to the sales of Darpin, Allergan's experimental eye drug that is seen as a potential competitor to Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc's (REGN.O) highly successful medicine Eylea.

Allergan on Tuesday built its case with investors for rejecting Valeant's offer, one day before Valeant's scheduled webcast to explain its case.

Separately, Valeant said on Wednesday that it would sell some of its skincare treatments business, including facial fillers for treating wrinkles, to Nestle SA (NESN.VX) for $1.4 billion in cash.

Allergan shares have risen 16 percent since Valeant's initial offer to close at $165.02 on Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange.

Valeant's U.S.-listed shares have risen a little over 3 percent in that same period to close at $129.95 on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Esha Dey in Bangalore; Editing by Savio D'Souza) - 28 May 2014

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Rupee snaps three-day fall on good dollar inflows

Rupee snaps three-day fall on good dollar inflows

   May 28, 2014       prabhakardalvi

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MUMBAI (Reuters) - The rupee snapped a three-day losing streak on Wednesday as dollar inflows related to foreign funds and companies helped offset heavy month-end demand for the greenback from oil and other importers.

Traders also cited occasional dollar buying by the Reserve Bank of India, although the intervention was not believed to be as aggressive as in recent weeks.

Traders will continue to focus on the measures new Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government will take to bring down the fiscal deficit and fight inflation.

"There was good dollar selling seen today, likely some corporate flows as well. Foreign banks were mostly on the sell side while there were importers and state-run firms seen bidding," said A. AjithKumar, a foreign exchange dealer with Federal Bank.

"There is a good technical support for the pair at 58.35 levels which the central bank defended last time. If that level is broken we could see the pair fall more, if not, we could head back towards 59.50 again," he added.

The partially convertible rupee closed at 58.93/94 per dollar compared to 59.04/05 on Tuesday.

Foreign investors have bought a net $1.46 billion in debt over the past four sessions, bringing their total buying so far this month to $3 billion. In shares, despite some modest selling over the past few sessions, net inflows in May are $2.4 billion.

In the offshore non-deliverable forwards, the one-month contract was at 59.21 while the three-month was at 59.76.

By Swati Bhat

(Editing by Sunil Nair) - 28 May 2014

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Rupee sees worst fall in over two months; eyes set on new finance minister

Rupee sees worst fall in over two months; eyes set on new finance minister

   May 27, 2014       prabhakardalvi

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MUMBAI (Reuters) - The rupee posted its biggest single-day fall in more than two months on Tuesday, dropping for a third straight session, weighed down by continued profit-taking in domestic shares and month-end dollar demand from importers.

After Narendra Modi was sworn in as India's prime minister late on Monday, investors are now focusing on his policies, which will help determine whether a recent rally in the rupee and in shares is justified.

New finance minister Arun Jaitley will be especially important as investors await a new budget, expected by early July, that will need to reassure markets that India can contain its fiscal deficit.

The new government will also need to decide on steps taken by the previous government to curb imports, which helped narrow the current account deficit to $1.2 billion in the March quarter, according to data late on Monday.

India has been able to narrow its current account deficit thanks to hefty foreign inflows, including net purchases of $5 billion worth of stocks and debt in the month so far, taking total inflows this year to more than $14 billion.

"Foreign fund flows have been strong and the continuation of those will be key for the rupee," said Uday Bhatt, a foreign exchange dealer with UCO Bank.

The partially convertible rupee closed at 59.04/05 per dollar compared to 58.71/72 on Monday. It moved in a wide 58.79 to 59.11 band during the session. The unit fell 0.56 percent on the day, its biggest single-day fall since March 20, when the unit had dropped 0.6 percent.

The rupee fell as the Nifty fell for a second consecutive session as investors continued to book profits in recent outperformers such as State Bank of India.

Investors will also focus on gross domestic product data for the March quarter, due to be announced on Friday, while the Reserve Bank of India is set to review policy on June 3.

In the offshore non-deliverable forwards, the one-month contract was at 59.23 while the three-month was at 59.82.

By Swati Bhat

(Editing by Sunil Nair), Published on 27 APril 2014

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