JSE-listed pharmaceutical company Adcock Ingram on Thursday announced that it would further delay a shareholder vote on the increased R12.8-billion takeover offer from Chile’s CFR Pharmaceuticals to mid-February, as it was still awaiting regulatory approval of the relevant shareholder documentation.
The vote on this transaction would initially have taken place in December, but was postponed to January to give shareholders more time to consider CFR’s increased offer, which had been increased from R12.6-billion to R12.8-billion to fend of a rival offer from South Africa-based Bidvest, as well as to attempt to gain the support of South African State-owned pension fund the Public Investment Corporation (PIC).
However, as of December the PIC, which owned 22% of Adcock, still did not support the transaction, stating that it did not want shares in CFR.
In a previous Reuters report PIC CEO Elias Masilela said CFR's offer reduced the potential for Adcock shareholders to benefit from a turnaround in the struggling company.
"We believe that CFR shares are fully valued while Adcock Ingram's share price has the potential to rise substantially in value through better management," Masilela said.
He also voiced concerns about CFR as a family-controlled business, as the founding Weinstein family controls around 73% of CFR.
"Given our experience of corporate governance challenges with some family-controlled businesses locally, we believe this introduces risks to the investment, especially considering the short listing history of CFR," Masilela said.