DOW JONES NEWSWIRES Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (VRX, VRX.T) said it has withdrawn its offer to acquire ISTA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ISTA), about two weeks after sweetening its takeover proposal. ISTA had said Valeant raised its initial proposal in talks this month by $1 a share, to $7.50 a share, with a target of $8.50 subject to due diligence. The offer, potentially valued at around $353 million, was to expire on Tuesday, but Valeant said it withdrew the bid due to lack of progress. ISTA's shares were down 6.4% to $7.45 in premarket trading. As of Friday's close, the stock had been up 86% over the past three months. Valeant's shares closed Friday at $49.17 and were inactive in the premarket. "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 Chief Executive J. Michael Pearson said. He said his company is working on other opportunities that it believes can add to shareholder value. An ISTA representative wasn't immediately available for comment. ISTA Pharmaceuticals last month rejected Valeant's initial takeover offer, calling the $314 million proposal, "grossly inadequate." -By Ben Fox Rubin, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-3108; ben.rubin@dowjones.com
