Second bidder drives Warner shares up 6%

SHARES in Warner Chilcott gained more than 6% yesterday after the drugmaker said a second bidder has made a play for the company.

Warner, formerly called Galen Holdings, has already agreed to let a consortium look at its books.

The potential bidding war for the £1.5 billion company sent its shares up 48p on the London stock market to 815p.

Warner did not name the new party as it had entered into a confidentiality agreement and is beginning due diligence enquiries.

It said the approaches “remain preliminary in nature”.

The first approach is believed to have come from a consortium led by investment bank Goldman Sachs and US buyout specialist Blackstone and Texas Pacific, the latter headed by Ryanair chairman David Bonderman.

Brokers speculated that the new bidder may be another pharmaceutical company with Davy Stockbrokers tipping Barr Labs, which had a bid for the company rebuffed last year.

What is still not clear is the position of Warner’s chief executive Roger Boissoneault, who is not part of the board’s deliberations on the bids, prompting speculation that he may join forces with one of the parties to lead the takeover.