Swiss drug giant Roche Holding AG on Wednesday extended for a
fifth time its $3 billion tender offer for Oro Valley-based Ventana
Medical Systems Inc.
But the Swiss drugmaker did not change the $75-per-share offer
that Ventana has repeatedly rejected as too low.
The offer, now extended to March 14, had been set to expire Jan.
17, Roche said in a statement. Other terms of the offer, first made
in June 2007, remain unchanged, Roche said.
Ventana, the Oro Valley-headquarted maker of diagnostic tests
for cancer, has rejected the Roche offer as “grossly
inadequate.”
“Our board of directors continues to recommend that stockholders
not tender any of their shares to Roche at this inadequate price,”
Ventana CEO Christopher Gleeson said in a statement.
“Our discussions with Roche are progressing, and we remain
committed to providing superior value to our investors.”
Last month, Roche said it would nominate nine candidates for
Ventana’s board. The annual meeting of shareholders is set for
June.