Companies deny wrongdoing in lead-up to merger announcement

The merger deal that would create India’s largest pharmaceutical company has been stalled by accusations of insider trading of shares in the lead-up to the takeover announcement. The High Court of Andhra Pradesh has halted the transaction between Sun Pharma and Ranbaxy while the allegations are investigated.

The allegations centre on an unusually rapid increase in Ranbaxy’s share price in the week before the deal was announced. Sun Pharma has denied any wrongdoing, saying in a statement that: ‘The matter related to purchase of shares of Ranbaxy Laboratories does not violate insider trading rules.’