Actavis plc (ACT): Allergan, Inc. (AGN)’s Hail Mary Pass Against Bill Ackman

As Allergan, Inc. (NYSE:AGN) receives another blow in its bid to ward off the activist investor, Bill Ackman, CEO of Pershing Square Capital, the only remaining glimmer of hope for the healthcare company might be Actavis plc (NYSE:ACT). CNBC‘s David Faber recalled a rumored Actavis takeover bid for Allergen.

“[…] Proxy from Allergan, Inc. (NYSE:AGN) saying, yeah, we did get approached by another party regarding a potential transaction. We cannot provide assurance on the outcome, or disclose possible terms unless and agreement is reached. That was Actavis plc (NYSE:ACT). That approach was 6 weeks ago or more. The question is, is Activis still there? This is a company that has done numerous deals even over the last year […],” reported Faber.

The recent blow to Allergan, Inc. (NYSE:AGN) is the ruling of a court in California, which allowed Mr. Ackman to exercise voting rights on his 9.7% stake in the company at the December 18th special meeting of Allergan’s shareholders, according to Faber. Furthermore Allergan, Inc. (NYSE:AGN)’s plans to challenge the ruling and hoping for an SEC intervention are also a long shot considering the short time frame until the all important shareholder’s meeting.

However, the curtains have still not closed for Allergan, Inc. (NYSE:AGN), according to the analysts that Faber spoke to. They seem to think that there is still sufficient time to come up with a new plan before the meeting.

Allergan, Inc. (NYSE:AGN) might not be the biggest spender in R&D among the pharmaceutical companies, but it has certainly caught the eye of Bill Ackman, who plans to extract some hidden value from the company, but definitely not in ways that Allergan approves of, and hence the battle between the two ensues.

Allergan, Inc. (NYSE:AGN) is currently down 0.52% for the day and trading at $194.

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