Mylan countersues Perrigo over 'misstatements' about tender offer
By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - Mylan NV countersued Perrigo Co on Tuesday over "serious misstatements" it made as part of its defense against an unsolicited $27 billion tender offer by the generic and over-the-counter drugmaker. In a filing in Manhattan federal court, Mylan sought an order requiring Perrigo to correct "false and misleading statements" it made as part of an effort to prevent any merger. The counterclaims were filed after Perrigo last Thursday sought an injunction to block the closing of any tender offer unless Mylan corrected its own alleged misleading statements to Perrigo shareholders about a potential merger. Perrigo's lawsuit said Mylan overstated potential synergies, and falsely claimed power to delist Perrigo shares in an effort to strong-arm acceptance of the tender offer. But in Tuesday's filing, Mylan said Perrigo management including CEO Joseph Papa, sought to mislead its own shareholders into rejecting an offer "that is, in fact, in their best interest." Mylan said Papa for six weeks made public statements against the proposed deal without disclosing that he had in March made a "conflicting purchase" of more than $220,000 in Mylan stock. He then "inundated" shareholders with false statements about the proposed deal through an investor presentation and in media interviews, Mylan said. Mylan filed its counterclaims after earlier in the day saying that at the request of the Irish Takeover Panel, it would qualify a Sept. 8 statement that could itself be misleading and violate Irish takeover rules. Mylan had in that statement said that Perrigo's stock had been "protected from the recent sell-off in the markets, solely as a result of our offer." A spokesman for Perrigo did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokeswoman for Mylan had no immediate comment. Netherlands-based Mylan has offered $75 in cash and 2.3 of its shares for each Perrigo share, a combination now worth $182.30 based on Mylan's Tuesday closing price of $46.65. Perrigo shares closed down $2.86 at $171.97. Perrigo shareholders have until Nov. 13 to take part in the tender offer. Shareholders often wait until near the closing date before deciding to participate, so it is unclear if Mylan will succeed. Buying Perrigo would give Mylan over-the-counter consumer and nutritional products and a line of generic topical medicines. A takeover would be the latest in a string of recent multibillion-dollar pharmaceutical deals, including Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Ltd's $11 billion acquisition of Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd and AbbVie Inc's ABBV.N $21 billion offer for Pharmacyclics Inc. (Reporting by Nate Raymond; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Christian Plumb)
