Moore Medical to Clinical Data: Thanks but No Thanks

On March 3, Clinical Data, a would-be suitor for New Britain, CT-based Moore Medical Corp., said it would not raise its offer for the medical and surgical supplies marketer. This announcement came a day after Moore Medical said that it preferred a bid from San Francisco-based healthcare services giant McKesson Corp. Moore had signed an agreement and merger plan with McKesson back on Jan. 19.

Newton, MA-based Clinical Data, which provides products and consulting services to physician office labs and offers blood chemistry instrumentation and diagnostic products to clinics and hospitals, on Feb. 24 had offered to acquire Moore Medical for $15.84 per share, or about $50.5 million. But a decline in Clinical Data’s share price after the bid was announced left the offer lower than McKesson’s initial $12-per-share cash bid.

Clinical Data came back Feb. 26 and offered 0.698 of a share plus $2 for each Moore Medical share. After evaluating the proposals, Moore Medical passed on Clinical’s offer on March 2 with a letter from its president/CEO Linda Autore that described Clinical Data’s stock as “highly illiquid.”

If you’re keeping score, Bristol, TN-based SJ Strategic Investments had also offered to buy Moore Medical for $15 per share in cash but withdrew its offer on Feb. 13.