Two weeks after Given Imaging ($GIVN) said it was no longer for sale, the Israeli maker of the PillCam endoscopic pill camera is fielding interest from a European private-equity firm that reportedly wants to buy a stake in the company. And others may also be vying for a piece of the action.
Bloomberg and Israel's Globes newspaper report that Permira Fund, and likely others, are in talks with Discount Investment Corp. to snatch up at least part, or maybe all, of the 54.5% stake of Given that Discount owns. Globes refers to Discount's portion of the company as "the controlling core"--worth $227 million out of the company's $493 million market cap. But those shares would likely earn a premium on top of that, the story explains.
As Globes reports, the rumored investor interest (whispered from "anonymous sources") comes as overall investors have reacted unfavorably to the news that Given would no longer sell the whole company--with its share price dropping 12.6%. Given's stock closed at $15.90 on Jan. 25, though it jumped a bit in premarket trading.
Either way, Given does have some major market advances to look forward to that will likely heighten its cachet. This year, the company wants to obtain FDA de novo clearance and regulatory approval in Japan for its PillCam Colon 2.
- read the Globes story
- here's Bloomberg's take