Johnson & Johnson offer for Mentor expires Friday; International Shipholding falls on loss of suitor

By Cristal Cody

New York, Jan. 15 - Johnson & Johnson said Thursday that it has received regulatory clearances for the acquisition of Mentor Corp., but only a fraction of the company's shares have been tendered in the offer.

In other deals, shares of International Shipholding Corp. lost $6.46, or 26.3%, to close Thursday at $18.10 after Liberty Shipping Group, LLC withdrew its takeover offer.

Looking to investor sentiment, Wall Street made a slight comeback after Wednesday's losses.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 12.35 points, or 0.15%, to close at 8,212.49.

The S&P 500 index rose 1.12, or 0.13%, to 843.74, and the Nasdaq Composite index rose 22.20 points, or 1.49%, to 1,511.84.

Johnson & Johnson tender

Johnson & Johnson said Thursday that it has received all foreign and U.S. antitrust and regulatory clearances for the acquisition of Mentor.

So far, only 12.1% of shares have been tendered in the $31.00-a-share offer, which is set to expire Friday, Johnson & Johnson said in a statement.

Johnson & Johnson made the offer Dec. 1.

Although only a few shares have been tendered, the market expects the deal to close, said Julie Hoggatt, an analyst with Noble Financial Group.

"It's going to go through," she said. "There's [just] not a lot of interest out there on it."

Shares of Johnson & Johnson fell 33 cents, or 0.57%, to close Thursday at $57.62.

Mentor's stock gained a nickel, or 0.16%, to finish at $30.96 in trading.

Liberty backs off International Shipholding

Liberty had offered in September to pay $25.75 a share for International Shipholding.

International Shipholding formed a special committee designed to explore shareholder value.

Liberty said in a letter sent to International Shipholding's board of directors that it had been rebuffed repeatedly in attempts to complete the $308 million transaction.

The company said International Shipholding placed restrictions on contact with shareholders and on Liberty's stock voting rights.

"In light of your repeated refusal to engage in a serious dialogue that could lead to a mutually beneficial transaction and our inability to gain access to nonpublic information that would allow us to assess the value of ISH in light of current market conditions, we do not believe it is in our best interests to allow this situation to remain unresolved for an extended period of time," Liberty said in the letter. "Accordingly, we have determined to withdraw our proposal, effective immediately."

Representatives of International Shipholding did not immediately return a call for comment.

Mentioned in this article:

International Shipholding Corp. NYSE: ISH

Johnson & Johnson NYSE: JNJ

Mentor Corp. NYSE: MNT

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