Responding to a $1.2 billion October bid by Bayer HealthCare to acquire Schiff Nutrition International (NYSE: SHF), health and hygiene products maker Reckitt Benckiser announced last week that it would bid $1.4 billion for Schiff.
Now, it appears Reckitt has won that bid. In a filing today with the SEC, Schiff announced that Bayer had decided not to offer an increased price. Bayer believes a merger with Schiff would be a good idea, but "came to the conclusion that entering a competitive bidding process ... would result in a price outside Bayer’s set financial criteria. Having completed a number of successful acquisitions, Bayer plans to continue its strategy to augment organic growth with strategic bolt-on acquisitions," according to the filing with the SEC.
Bayer's dropping out of the bidding for Schiff seems to leave Reckitt to acquire the company uncontested -- assuming Schiff is amenable. Reckitt Benckiser's offer is good until 9 a.m. Dec. 14.
Schiff, a manufacturer of vitamins and nutritional supplements, is probably best-known for the Airborne brand immunity-boosting supplement that it acquired in March of this year. Schiff recorded $259 million in sales for its fiscal year ended May 31, 2012. The company has publicly stated that it expects sales in fiscal 2013 to top this number by at least 43%.
