Word: sanofi
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...Shield, a small plastic intrauterine birth-control device. Yet in the past few weeks suitors lined up as if Robins had discovered a cure for cancer. Two U.S. drug companies (Manhattan-based American Home Products and the Rorer Group of suburban Philadelphia) and one foreign pharmaceutical and cosmetics house (Sanofi of Paris) made offers for Robins. As the bids proliferated, a federal bankruptcy judge gave Robins a Jan. 6 deadline to pick a suitor and file a reorganization plan...
Late last week, after the Robins board of directors met for an extraordinary 5 1/2 hours on New Year's Eve and nearly six hours on New Year's Day, the company announced that the winner of the bidding battle was Sanofi. The second largest French drug company, which manufactures everything from Nina Ricci perfumes to pills that fight hardening of the arteries, will pay $3.08 billion. The price includes $600 million for a 58% interest in Robins and $2.48 billion that will be put into a trust fund to pay damages to Dalkon Shield claimants...
...Sanofi and the other bidders rush for Robins? The answer lies in such mundane but popular household items as Robitussin and Dimetapp cold medicines, Chap Stick lip balm and Sergeant's flea-and-tick collars. Those are among the products that make Robins one of the most profitable bankrupt companies in history. In the first three quarters of 1987, Robins earned $60 million on sales of $621 million, compared with profits of $55 million on revenues of $579 million during the same period...
Merhige's ruling removed much of the uncertainty surrounding Robins and encouraged the flurry of takeover bids. Right through New Year's Day, the contestants kept raising the ante. American Home Products, the maker of Anacin headache tablets, reportedly offered $3.08 billion, as Sanofi did. But A.H.P. wanted all of Robins, while Sanofi was content with 58%. The last announced bid from Rorer, the manufacturer of Maalox antacid, was valued at $2.98 billion...