Cinven drops out of bidding for Elan division

August 21, 2008 | By John Carroll

The bidding war for Elan Drug Technologies, a division of the big Irish biotech, just lost a key player. The private equity player Cinven has dropped out of the auction, leaving Bain Capital and TPG. Apax and KKR haven't made a bid yet, but observers say they may yet.

The product development and manufacturing operation should fetch up to $1.5 billion. After the sale, Elan plans to concentrate entirely on biotechnology.

--read the story from the Financial Times