Bergen Sets Deadline on Buy Offer

Bergen Brunswig Corp. has given a rival pharmaceuticals supplier a deadline of today to provide it with financial information that will aid Bergen in its attempt to buy the firm.

Despite being spurned in its attempt to negotiate a purchase, Orange-based Bergen Brunswig said it is serious about its offer to buy Durr-Fillauer Medical Inc. of Montgomery, Ala. But it complained in a letter to Durr-Fillauer’s board of directors that “you have not provided us with one shred of information.”

Bergen Brunswig President Robert E. Martini said the information that the letter requested is crucial. He said Bergen needs the same information that Durr-Fillauer provided to its preferred suitor, Cardinal Distribution Inc. of Dublin, Ohio. Only then, Martini said, can Bergen decide whether to increase its proposed purchase price.

Durr-Fillauer has signed an agreement with Cardinal to be acquired. Under the deal, Durr-Fillauer shareholders could receive shares of Cardinal stock worth up to $30.50 a share in a deal whose value is estimated at $450 million.

Bergen is offering $26 a share, a deal worth $365 million. But Bergen complains that Durr-Fillauer’s directors refuse to present its proposal to shareholders.