Strides Arcolab raises offer for Ascent's remaining shares to $0.40

Bangalore, India-based drugmaker Strides Arcolab (BSE: 532531) says it has raised its offer price for acquiring 43% minority share in Australia-based Ascent Pharmahealth (APH: AU) to $0.40 per share, reports India’s Business Standard.

Strides already has a controlling stake of 57% in the Australian firm which it acquired in August 2008. Ascent sells branded generic drugs and over-the-counter products in the Australasia region.

This is the second acquisition move for Strides this month; it earlier entered into an agreement to buy 70% of fellow Bangalore-based biotech company Inbiopro Solutions, which will give it access to a pipeline of eight biological products estimated to have global sales of over $28 billion (The Pharma Letter December 10).