The Alpharma Inc. Board of Directors urged shareholders not to sell their shares to King Pharmaceuticals, citing the price of $37 per share as financially inadequate and not in the shareholders’ best interests.

The company continues to pursue all strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value and has received further offers from as yet unidentified bidders. A possibility being considered is the sale of the company by auction with a price in excess of $37 per share, in which case the company has said King is also very welcome to present a bid.

Alpharma today filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission a Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on Schedule 14D-9, informing the SEC of their actions.

Alpharma has a growing branded franchise in the U.S. pain market with morphine-based, extended-release KADIAN(R) and the FLECTOR(R) Patch, which contains epolamine.

Source: Alpharma, Inc.