Anacor reveals receiving rival bid before Pfizer deal - filing
May 26 (Reuters) - Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inc said it had received a takeover bid from a third party before it struck a $5.2 billion deal with Pfizer Inc last week.
Anacor's shares were trading at $99.93, above Pfizer's offer price of $99.25.
Pfizer agreed to buy Anacor on May 16 to add an eczema gel to its portfolio, a month after the U.S. drug major scrapped plans to acquire Allergan Plc.
The acquisition will give Pfizer access to the topical treatment, crisaborole, which is currently under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
At the time, some analysts said they had expected Anacor to be acquired by Allergan, which has a stronger presence in the dermatology market, or by Novartis AG's Sandoz unit, which sells Anacor's toenail fungus drug in the United States.
Some also said that with the relatively low termination fee of about $181 million, Anacor could also be persuaded to accept a superior proposal.
Anacor said in a regulatory filing on Thursday that Pfizer originally offered $95.00 per share for the company on May 6 but its financial adviser, Citi, recommended that Pfizer improve the bid, given Anacor had received another offer. (http://1.usa.gov/1XVlbSw) (Reporting by Natalie Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
