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 "We believe that this is entirely unfounded market
gossip," Richter spokeswoman Zsuzsa Beke told Reuters on Tuesday in
response to a question.
"We believe that Forest does not intend to make a hostile takeover,
this is entirely unrealistic," she said.
Forest was not immediately available for comment.
The two companies are linked through a planned new antipsychotic
drug, Cariprazine, discovered by Richter and licensed to Forest in
the United States and Canada.
The Hungarian state holds a 25 percent stake in Richter which it
renewed in an exchangeable bond transaction late last year. That
stake serves in part to prevent any hostile takeover attempts,
Richter's chief executive Erik Bogsch has said.
Richter shares rose 3.5 percent in Monday trade on the Budapest
Stock Exchange, outperforming the wider market. The shares were down
1.3 percent at 4,695 forints ($21.47) by 0925 GMT on Tuesday.
Some market players said Monday's gains may have been fuelled by
recent takeover activity by Forest.
"The company announced its purchase of Aptalis last week and flagged
further acquisitions, which led many to consider Richter as a
target," analysts at brokerage Equilor said.
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Forest said last week it would buy speciality pharmaceutical
maker Aptalis from private equity firm TPG Capital for $2.9 billion
(£1.76 billion) in a deal it promised would increase next year's
earnings.
Analysts at Erste Bank have said gains in Richter shares over the
past week were also fuelled by expansion prospects flagged by its
chief executive to Reuters in an interview.
(Reporting by Gergely Szakacs; editing
by Mark Potter)
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