Cryo-Cell rejects takeover bid

Cryo-Cell International Inc. recently rejected two unsolicited offers from a private equity firm in Utah seeking to buy the Oldsmar-based company.

Park City-based DW Healthcare Partners LP offered $1.50 in cash per share of Cryo-Cell stock Sept. 9, and after being rebuffed once, countered with an increased offer of $1.75 per share Sept. 27. Cryo-Cell rejected that offer as well, and CEO Mercedes Walton provided a more thorough explanation of the company's stance in an Oct. 18 release.

"Strategically and operationally, Cryo-Cell is perhaps at one of the strongest positions in our corporate history,” Walton argued. “In view of the company's current valuation, the Cryo-Cell board, which includes some of the largest shareholders, understands the persistent interest expressed by the private equity group and other companies in the prospective acquisition of Cryo-Cell.”