Bavarian Nordic chair Debruyne steps down after failed takeover

(Reuters) -Danish vaccine maker Bavarian Nordic said on Thursday Luc Debruyne will step down as chair, days after a takeover attempt by Nordic Capital and Permira collapsed.

Debruyne will be succeeded by current vice chair Anne Louise Eberhard effective immediately, the company said in a statement.

"After careful reflection on both the process and the outcome of the recent takeover attempt, I have decided to step down to enable the board of Bavarian Nordic to focus on the company’s next phase of development," Debruyne said. 

Last week, Innosera, a consortium led by Nordic Capital and Permira, withdrew its bid for the company after failing to meet the required level of support from shareholders.

The offer, announced in July, included a subscription price of 233 Danish crowns ($36.17) per share, valuing the company at around $3 billion and drawing criticism from Bavarian Nordic's shareholders. Top shareholder Danish pension fund ATP publicly rejected it.

Innosera later revised the minimum acceptance condition twice, to 75% and then to 66.67% from the initial 90%.

After protests from shareholders, it also hiked the offer price in October to 250 crowns per share and extended the offer period until November 5.

Bavarian Nordic's board recommended both the original and revised offers to shareholders.

Shares of Bavarian Nordic have fallen more than 20% since the bid was withdrawn.

(Reporting by Mihika Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)