Norgine raises prospect of ProStrakan counterbid

LONDON Feb 23 (Reuters) - Kyowa Hakko Kirin's (4151.T) plans to buy Scotland's ProStrakan may not be a done deal after Dutch pharmaceutical group Norgine increased its stake, raising the prospect that it could gatecrash the deal.

Shares in ProStrakan were trading at 132.5 pence on Wednesday, above the 130 pence-a-share bid agreed by the Japanese drugmaker on Monday. [ID:nLDE71K087]

Norgine, which saw its own offer for ProStrakan rebuffed in November, bought 1.18 million shares at 129 pence and a further 80,468 shares at 129.75 pence, taking its stake to 14.4 percent.

Kyowa Hakko's bid is backed by institutional shareholders representing more than 47 percent of ProStrakan's shares, and a competing bid would have to be pitched at 140 pence or above to override their irrevocable backing.

Analyst Shawn Manning at Singer Capital Markets said "it is interesting that Norgine is willing to accumulate at this price level, suggesting that we should not rule out a formal counter bid, at a higher price."

He noted that Kyowa Hakko Hirin's bid was at a "bargain price" and said ProStrakan's Canadian partner Paladin Labs Inc (PLB.TO) had also been expressing an interest.

"Although the probability of a potential counter-bid is not necessarily high, we advise investors to await further developments," he said. (Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Hans Peters)