Stada receives two takeover proposals, including a 3.6-billion euros bid from Cinven

Stada Arzneimittel confirmed Sunday that it received two non-binding takeover proposals, including a 3.6-billion euros ($3.8 billion) bid from private equity group Cinven at 56 euros ($59.50) per share, representing a 15-percent premium to Stada's closing price on February 10.

While Strada did not name the second bidder, the drugmaker said it "is currently weighing up its options on how to react in the best interest of the company." Stada added that "it is not yet possible to foresee whether a takeover offer from Cinven or the other potential bidder will indeed materialise."

The offers follows a year-long activist campaign by investor Active Ownership, which is one of the drugmaker's largest shareholders. Active Ownership led a successful campaign last year to oust the drugmaker's chairman and replaced five members of the company’s supervisory board.  At that time, Stada accused Active Ownership of attempting to engineer a sale of the company.

Last August, Stada announced that chairman Hartmut Retzlaff resigned from his post after previously stepping down as CEO due to "a serious, long-term illness." Matthias Wiedenfels, who took over from Retzlaff, said last November that Stada could put itself up for sale, noting that "independence is not a goal in itself."

According to people close to the situation, Advent, Bain Capital, CVC and Permira could make an offer, adding that private equity bidders believed there were significant costs that could be cut from the business.