Allergan Inc.’s share price down, discloses e-mailed correspondence describing Valeant as a “house of cards”

The Botox-maker – Allergan Inc., which has been a target of a 53-billion-dollar acquisition by Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. – disclosed private correspondence in the form of e-mails, where Valeant was described by its own bankers as a “house of cards”.

The disclosure of the private correspondence between the companies was unexpected and was intended to support the arguments of Allergan that its suitor Valeant is a flawed buyer in an attempt to escape a hostile takeover offer. This is considered part of the companys strategy to avoid the unwanted buyer.

The managing director of the healthcare group at Morgan Stanley – Mr. David Horn said in one of the e-mail exchanges disclosed by Allergan and cited by Reuters: “Part of what Rob (Kindler) is suggesting (to Allergan) is to allow him to use his significant relationships with media and analysts to provide a clear and detailed articulation of why Valeant is a house of cards and your investors should not want to take their stock.”

Since the cash-and-stock offer of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. was posted in April this year, the two companies started a fierce battle of words, trying to emphasize on the other ones business model defects.

One of the spokeswomen of Morgan Stanley – Ms. Mary Claire Delaney – refused to make any comments on the release of the e-mails. As reported by Bloomberg, Mr. Michael Pearson, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. commented in an e-mailed statement that the correspondence disclosure of Allergan “is a sign of desperation, and we look forward to proving the naysayers wrong”.

Allergan Inc. was 1.50% down to close at 159.37 dollars per share yesterday, marking a one-year change of +57.57%. According to the information published on the CNN Money, the 18 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for Allergan Inc. have a median target of 187.50, with a high estimate of 207.00 and a low estimate of 130.00. The median estimate represents a +17.65%increase from the last price of 159.37.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. was 1.58% down to close at 127.54 Canadian dollars per share yesterday, marking a one-year change of +48.84%.