PIC wants cash for Adcock

Johannesburg - The state-owned pension fund (PIC) on Sunday rejected a sweetened $1.2bn (R12.8bn) cash and stock offer for drugmaker Ingram from a Chilean suitor, saying it wanted cash.

-based CFR Pharmaceuticals on Friday slightly increased its bid for in an attempt to woo the PIC, 's top shareholder.

"This new offer doesn't change much. It's a small increase," PIC Chief Investment Officer told Reuters on Sunday.

"Our message is clear: We want cash, we don't want their shares."

The fate of the rare Chile-South Africa tie-up has been in doubt after PIC, Adcock's largest shareholder, rejected the bid and local firm Bidvest launched a counter offer.

Bidvest, a sprawling conglomerate whose businesses include car sales and catering, has offered R4bn in cash for more than a third of Adcock, South Africa's second-largest drugmaker.

CFR initially offered R12.6bn in cash and shares, a bid PIC would have "probably" approved if it were all in cash, a source familiar with the fund's thinking has told Reuters on Friday.

Under the revised CFR offer, shareholders would receive R74.50 worth of cash and shares for each Adcock share, based on a value of R2.334 per new CFR share.

That is slightly higher than the R73.51 per share CFR offered last month.

The final ratio of cash to shares will only be determined after a pending rights issue by CFR.

The new offer is also aimed at fending off Bidvest, which went to straight to shareholders with a R70 per share cash offer earlier this month.

Bidvest has already built up its Adcock stake to about 7%, enough to torpedo the deal if PIC - which owns about 19% - is still not in favour of the revised offer.

The deal needs backing by shareholders holding 75% of Adcock to go through.

The meeting where shareholders were due to vote on the CFR offer has been postponed from December 18 and would now be held by no later than January 15, Adcock and CFR said in a statement.