(Reuters) - When Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc raises its offer for Allergan Inc next week as it has indicated it will, it needs to hit the range of $180 to $200 per share, according to a JPMorgan survey of investors.
Valeant and activist investor Bill Ackman made a $47 billion cash and stock offer for Botox maker ALLERGAN (AGN.NY)on April 22 but Allergan is fighting the deal, saying it is better off alone. Allergan shares are currently trading above the $153 per share offer price and were up 1.3 percent on Friday at $166.
Allergan rejected Valeant's offer on May 19, saying that Valeant's business model of serial acquisitions is not sustainable. Valeant responded by saying it plans to raise its offer on May 28 and will hold a webcast.
In a JPMorgan survey of 123 buyside investors between May 16 and May 20, about 60 percent of respondents indicated Valeant would need to offer in the $181-$200 range for Allergan to be acquired, according to a May 23 research note. The survey was conducted as Allergan and Valeant both were meeting with investors about their proposals.
About two-thirds of those surveyed believed Valeant's offer will be successful.
"We feel confident that VRX can structure such a deal (using a larger cash component, CVR, collar, etc.) which would still be highly accretive," JPMorgan analyst Chris Schott said in the research note.
Earlier this week, Valeant Chief Executive Michael Pearson told Reuters that investors want the offer to include more equity, not cash, which some Wall Street analysts have said was needed to win over Allergan shareholders.
Valeant shares were up 2 percent at $133.46 in New York Stock Exchange trading on Friday morning.
Valeant was not immediately available for comment.
(Corrects paragraph 4 to show that Allergan is meeting with investors but not seeking a deal, not that Allergan and Valeant are both meeting with investors to sway them to a deal)
(Reporting by Caroline Humer; additional reporting by Rod Nickel; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)
