Italy's Recordati says board finds CVC, GBL offer 'fair' as independent directors dissent

July 15 (Reuters) - Recordati said on Wednesday that a majority of its board has deemed as "fair" an offer by private equity firm CVC Capital Partners and Belgian investment group Groupe Bruxelles Lambert to take the Italian drugmaker private.

Six out of the board's 10 members voted in favour of the €51.29 ($58.80) per share offer, while four independent directors deemed it to be inadequate and not fair, the company said in a statement.

Recordati's shares closed at €51.3 on Wednesday and were up about 5.7% so far this year.

The €10.7 billion cash offer for Recordati was made in May amid a wave of consolidation in Italy's pharmaceutical sector.

The board said it took into account the potential benefits of operating as a privately held company, including greater flexibility to pursue "long-term strategic initiatives" and acquisition opportunities.

The four independent directors who dissented said the offer did not adequately reflect Recordati's value and future prospects, although they acknowledged the strategic rationale of the deal and the potential benefits associated with a delisting.

CVC, which has since 2018 controlled a vehicle holding a 46.8% stake in Recordati, had in March submitted a non-binding ​expression of interest for all of the company’s shares, with ⁠the aim of delisting it.

Founded a century ago by Giovanni Recordati as a family pharmacy in a town in central Italy, Recordati now operates businesses covering primary care, consumer health and rare diseases.

($1 = 0.8723 euros)

(Reporting by Anusha Shah in Bengaluru; Editing by Chris Reese and Jonathan Ananda)