Valeant withdraws acquisition offer for Ista

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario — Valeant Pharmaceuticals said it would not move forward in its pursuit of Ista Pharmaceuticals due to lack of progress.

The drug maker said it withdrew the acquisition offer of Ista, valued at $7.50 per share in cash. Valeant previously said that the offer would remain open until Jan. 31.

"As we stated last December, we were not interested in participating in a lengthy evaluation process and we are disappointed that the Ista team was not willing to fully explore our proposal by Jan. 31," Valeant chairman and CEO J. Michael Pearson said. "We continue to be disciplined on our [mergers and acquisitions] strategy and we are actively working on other opportunities that we believe can create value for our shareholders. We wish the Ista team well in their future endeavors."