Saying the offer "significantly undervalues the company," CV Therapeutics has reviewed and rejected Astellas Pharma's $1 billion unsolicited bid for CV. The offer was originally presented in November. CV promptly rejected that bid but reconsidered when the buyout attempt was made public, causing CV's stock to rise. But it appears that the $16-per-share offer is still no more attractive to CV than it was back in November.
Louis Lange, chairman and CEO of CV, did say that the company is still "receptive to opportunities to further enhance shareholder value."
"CV Therapeutics has a strategic plan in place which we believe will enhance shareholder value...Executing on our strategic plan enabled us to achieve outstanding results in 2008... The full promotional launch of the improved U.S. Ranexa labeling is just beginning, the introduction of Ranexa in Europe is imminent, and Lexiscan is showing real growth in the marketplace. Accordingly, we expect 2009 to be another outstanding year, highlighted by increasing revenues and pipeline advancement, for example with CVT-3619," Lange said in a statement.
- here's CV's release