Jim Chalmers shrugs off concerns the Mayne Pharma saga will rattle deal certainty
In response to a question from Capital Brief, the treasurer argued the predicament facing reluctant suitor Cosette Pharmaceuticals was unlikely to be a common one.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has downplayed concerns that blocking the Cosette Pharmaceuticals takeover of Mayne Pharma could set a precedent for reluctant investors to use the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) to get out of deals.
At a press conference outside the Sydney Opera House, Chalmers said in response to a question from Capital Brief that he did not “detect any reluctance in the investor community investing in Australia” and suggested the Mayne Pharma saga is a one-off unlikely to materially affect deal certainty.
Cosette has been trying to exit its more than $600 million proposed acquisition since a significant earnings downgrade in April. The company later told FIRB in July it might have to shutter Mayne’s facility in Salisbury, South Australia on commercial viability grounds.
Some in the market worry that if Chalmers blocks the deal on the basis of Cosette’s claim to FIRB, it could embolden other buyers who get cold feet to lean on the regulator to tank their own deals.
