CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) -- Javelin Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Thursday it has sued Hospira Inc. to get the drug and medical device maker to complete a merger announced in April.
Javelin, which is based in Cambridge, Mass., said Hospira and its subsidiary, Discus Acquisition Corp., breached the deal by failing to accept and pay for shares tendered through May 18.
Javelin also said Hospira, which is based in Lake Forest, Ill., breached a loan agreement that required it to give Javelin $2 million on June 1.
Hospira spokesman Dan Rosenberg said the company officials received the lawsuit Thursday and were still looking at it.
"We'll vigorously defend Hospira," he said. "We believe we've complied fully with our obligations under the merger agreement."
Hospira said last month it was extending its $145-million tender offer for Javelin to June 2. On Thursday, Hospira said the offer had been extended again, this time to expire at midnight, New York City time, on June 16.
Hospira said in a statement conditions of the offer had not been satisfied. It noted that Javelin's licensee for the pain treatment Dyloject has withdrawn all batches of the drug from the United Kingdom after finding the presence of a "white particulate matter" in some vials.
Hospira said 50.8 million Javelin shares representing about 78 percent of the outstanding total had been validly tendered and not withdrawn.
Shares of Javelin tumbled 24 cents, or nearly 16 percent, to $1.28 in Thursday afternoon trading, well below Hospira's offer worth $2.20 per share cash. Meanwhile, Hospira shares rose 21 cents to $52.08.
