JLL Partners Extends Patheon Tender Offer

Private equity firm JLL Partners extended its tender offer to buy Patheon Inc. and said it now holds about 39 percent of outstanding restricted voting shares of the Canadian contract drug manufacturer.

The New York-based firm said about 33.7 million restricted voting shares were tendered to its offer as of June 1 at a price of $2.00 per Patheon share, the equivalent of C$2.57 per share.

JLL Partners said the restricted voting shares taken up since the offer represent about 38 percent of the outstanding restricted voting shares of Patheon not already owned by it or its affiliates and associates.

The mid-market shop, which targets control equity investments, also holds 150,000 convertible preferred shares of the company representing about 29 percent of the currently issued and outstanding restricted voting shares on an as-converted basis.

If the preferred shares are converted, JLL Partners will hold 57 percent of the total number of restricted voting shares issued and outstanding, the firm said.

The tender offer will now expire ten days from the mailing of a formal notice of extension, which will be done shortly, the firm said.

In April, Patheon had rejected JLL’s offer and said a valuation by BMO Capital Markets of the restricted voting shares was in the range of $4.20 to $5.00 as of Feb. 16.

Patheon shares closed at C$2.94 Monday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by R. Manikandan in Bangalore; Editing by Aradhana Aravindan)