Serono Ends Strategic Review

It didn't see a high-enough bid.

Author:: TSC Staff
Publish date:: Apr 10, 2006 7:47 AM EDT

The family that controls

Serono

(SRA)

is no longer interested in selling the Swiss drugmaker, after its financial advisers failed to drum up a high-enough price.

The Bertarelli family terminated discussions concerning a sale, saying "the offers it received did not adequately reflect the future prospects of the company," according to a Serono statement.

In November, Serono announced that it hired Goldman Sachs to help explore strategic options, lifting its stock from below $17 to above $21 earlier this year. In premarket trading Monday, the shares slid $1.87, or 10.6%, to $15.77.

The company said Monday it will take a different tack in maximizing value.

"Moving forward, Serono will invest in its existing businesses and will actively pursue opportunities for growth through acquisitions," said CEO Ernesto Bertarelli.