Sometimes, it pays to sit tight. After months of wrangling over a price, the investor group Ramius has finally landed a deal to acquire San Diego-based Cypress Bioscience ($CYPB) for $255 million--a whopping 63 percent premium over its initial offer. Ramius and Royalty Pharma combined to close the deal at $6.50 a share, a 13 percent bump on the Tuesday close for a stock that had been pumped up through the fall by the ongoing buyout drama.
Ramius launched its takeover attempt last summer with a $4 per share offer, or $154 million. Then it went hostile in September, bumping its bid to $4.25. Through it all, the Cypress board refused to dicker over what it considered a low-ball bid. A few days ago, though, Ramius offered $5.50 a share, which opened the door to the deal announced today. The tender offer will remain open until December 29.
"For more than two months, Cypress' board of directors undertook a comprehensive evaluation of the company's strategic alternatives," said Daniel Petree, lead independent director of Cypress' Board of Directors. "After thorough and extensive analysis with our financial advisors, Cypress' board unanimously concluded that this transaction with Ramius and Royalty Pharma provides significant cash value to our stockholders and is in the best interests of our stockholders, customers and employees."
- here's the story from Reuters