Cinven drops out of EDT race

Source: Healthcare Digital

Date :22/08/2008 10:20:35

The number of bidders for Elan Drug Technologies has fallen after Cinven, the private equity house, pulled out of the auction.

The number of potential bidders for EDT fell on August 19 after Civen pulled out of the auction process.

EDT, a subsidiary of the Irish pharmaceuticals company, is expected to be sold for up to US$1.5 billion, allowing the group to focus on biotechnology.

Bain Capital and TPG, who made first-round bids for EDT last week, remain in the process.

EDT, which focuses on product development and manufacturing, has hired Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers to carry out the auction, which has increased in importance over the past few weeks following fresh concerns over the company’s leading drug, Tysabri.

Shares lost almost half their value at the beginning of the month after Tysabri, a treatment for MS sufferers, was linked to a potentially lethal brain disease.

The loss of confidence in Tysabri has been a blow for the company. A successful sale of EDT could help bolster the share price.