Cypress Biosciences turns down $6 per share raised offer from Ramius

US biotech firm Cypress Bioscience (Nasdaq: CYPB) has once again snubbed further advances from investment advisory firm Ramius V&O Acquisition, rejecting its fully financed offer to acquire all of the company’s outstanding common stock in a negotiated transaction for $6.00 per share in cash, an improvement on the $5.50 offered last Thursday (The Pharma Letters December 13 and July 20).

Ramius and affiliates of Royalty Pharma Finance Trust say they had fully negotiated the terms of a definitive merger agreement with Cypress over the past few days and in connection therewith increased their offer to acquire the stock to $6.00 per share in cash. The companies said they were led to believe on Monday that the revised offer would likely be acceptable to the board of directors of Cypress and that the board would be meeting that night to consider the revised offer.

Cypress pursuing alternative transaction