Sinclair IS Pharma Soars As It Says It Is Entertaining Suitors For Sale

November 26, 2014

By Riley McDermid, BioSpace.com Breaking News Editor

Dermatology biotech Sinclair IS Pharma has seen its shares shoot up more than 6 percent in Friday trading a day after the company said it has been meeting with suitors interested in acquiring the firm in a possible sale, Reuters reported.

That news pushed Sinclair up 11 percent in Tuesday trading on the London Stock Exchange as rumors of a potential exit swirled.

Though it did not name the companies that had approached it so far, Sinclair said it had appointed consulting firm Rothschild to assist it in evaluating the how valuable the company is currently, a classic opening gambit in shopping a firm around prior to a sale.

An unnamed source at the company told Reuters Tuesday that "there may be organizations better placed to build on the successes to date.”

It also told Reuters that companies that had approached it so far had primarily been interested in forging cooperative pacts that would include licensing or promotion deals, though some had been clear about an outright acquisition of the entire firm.

Sinclair specializes in wound care, dermatology and skin care products and saw a hefty 15 percent rise in 2014 revenue, a boost most likely attributed to the three acquisitions it made in 2013 and whose synergies are finally coming to fruition.

Sinclair Chairman Grahame Cook may have announced a formal commencement of the offer period to shareholders at the company's annual general meeting on Tuesday, but there was no confirmation of that as of press time Wednesday morning.