Novartis succeeds with bid for Chiron
Reuters, Zurich/New York
Drug maker Novartis has agreed to buy the remaining stake in US vaccine maker Chiron Corp for $5.1 billion, or $600 million more than an original bid which was deemed inadequate.The Swiss company, which already owns 42 percent of shares in Chiron, raised its bid on Monday for the remaining 58 percent to $45 a share in cash, $5 a share more than the original bid tendered in September. The price represents a premium of 23 percent to Chiron's trading price before the merger proposal was made. Novartis shares were trading 0.8 percent higher after the news. The offering has been unanimously approved by Chiron's independent directors, Novartis said.
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