Royalty Pharma says Elan sale process seeks to deflect Royalty bid

Royalty Pharma believes that the only reason Elan Corp Plc has announced a sales process is to deflect Royalty's own offer, the company's CEO said in a statement Friday morning.

Royalty Pharma has not heard from Elan or its financial advisers, said Pablo Legorreta, Royalty's chief executive officer, in the e-mailed statement.

"If shareholders want to have the option to choose between Royalty Pharma's offer or a sale process, they should vote against all four of Elan's proposals, especially the share repurchase program," the firm said in its statement.