Allergan Board Skeptical Of Valeant's Offer To Improve Bid

Allergan Inc. said Monday it would consider an improved bid from Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. , although it repeated that Valeant's offers have so far been inadequate and have undervalued Allergan. "We believe Valeant's letter today is simply a tactic to distract investors from Allergan's outstanding third quarter results," the botox maker's board said in a statement issued in response to a letter from Valeant earlier Monday. Valeant said it was willing to improve its offer to a value of $200 a share, its latest salvo in a six-month battle to buy Allergan. "Allergan believes that any assertion that Allergan's stock would be trading near its first quarter trading price absent the Valeant offer is not substantiated by fact," said the statement. Allergan shares were trading up 1.3% in premarket trade, and are up about 66% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained 6.3%.