McKesson (MCK) Slumps as $8.4B Celesio Meets Resistance

McKesson (NYSE: MCK) shares are lower Tuesday as its €6.1 billion (about $8.38 billion) bid for Celesio is under attack.

The WSJ said Celesio's largest independent investor -- Elliott Management -- rejected the offer, saying it undervalued the company. Elliott said that it Elliott believes that McKesson's offer for Celesio substantially undervalues the company and is not in the best interests of shareholders and bondholders.

McKesson bid €23 per share for Celesio last October. Elliott thinks that synergies between the two companies holds more value than what McKesson put on Celesio. The hedge fund notes that splitting Celesio's retail and wholesale operations could unlock some of that value.

The dissension could put a halt on the deal; Elliott was said to hold 25 percent of Celesio when taking into consideration two convertible bonds and the deal needs 75 percent approval to pass. The Hamiel family has a 50.01 percent stake in the company.

McKesson is down about 2.1 percent with heavy volume.

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