Sorrento Therapeutics Inc. said on Monday it had rejected a proposal by a private equity fund for a majority or all of its outstanding shares that had valued the drug developer at as much as US$993-million.
Shares of the company closed down more than 9 per cent on the Nasdaq to US$3.88 on Tuesday.
Sorrento said the proposal of up to US$7 a share received earlier this month undervalued it and was not in the best interest of its shareholders.
In November, the company had rejected an unsolicited buyout proposal from two pharmaceutical companies, which offered between US$3 and US$5 for each of Sorrento’s outstanding shares.
The drug maker has not disclosed the names of the private equity fund nor the two pharmaceutical companies and said it would continue to pursue potential tie-ups and transactions.
The cancer-therapy developer has one therapy, ZTlido, approved in the United States for relieving nerve pain after shingles infection.
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