Genentech rejects fresh Roche bid

Pharmaceuticals The Swiss giant Roche was rebuffed yesterday in its $42bn (£29bn) hostile bid to buy the shares it does not already own in the US biotech group Genentech.

The Genentech board advised shareholders to reject the $86.50-a-share bid for 44 per cent of the group, saying that the offer undervalued the company, which specialises in biotherapeutics.

The bid revises an offer of $89 a share, or $44bn, for the minority stake last year, which was also dismissed by Genentech directors as being inadequate. Genentech's bankers have indicated $112 a share as a fair price.