CVC, GBL sweeten bid for Italian drugmaker Recordati

ROME, Oct 6 (Reuters) - CVC Capital Partners and Belgian investment firm Groupe Bruxelles Lambert raised on Tuesday their takeover bid for Italian drugmaker Recordati to €53 per share and extended the offer period.

• The offer, launched through vehicle Respighi BidCo, was increased from an original price of €51.29 euros per share. Including the €0.71 euro of Recordati's 2025 dividend already distributed, the revised consideration is €53.71 per share, Respighi BidCo said on Tuesday

• The new price represents the "best and final" offer and will not be increased further, it added

• The revised bid represents a 16.6% premium to Recordati's closing price on March 25, last trading day before the announcement of the non-binding offer

• The move comes three weeks after activist investor Palliser Capital argued that the original offer undervalued the drugmaker, adding the consortium should raise it to at least €60 euros per share

• CVC and GBL launched the all-cash offer with the aim of delisting the company from the Milan stock exchange

• The acceptance period, which began on August 31 and was due to end on October 15, has now been extended until October 23, with payment scheduled for November 2

• As of October 5, shareholders representing 49.79% of Recordati's share capital had tendered their shares to the offer. CVC already owns a 46.8% stake in the pharma group

(Reporting by Giulia Segreti in Rome, Editing by Louise Heavens)