Intercept. The confidentiality agreement contained standstill provisions, which ceased to be effective upon the execution of the Merger Agreement and the announcement of the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement.
On July 17, 2023, Alfasigma engaged Sullivan & Cromwell LLP (“Sullivan & Cromwell”) to assist with its evaluation of a potential acquisition of Intercept, including legal due diligence, negotiation of definitive documentation and other relevant aspects of the potential transaction.
On July 19, 2023, Alfasigma engaged PJT Partners (UK) Limited (“PJT”) as its financial advisor to assist with its evaluation and negotiation of a potential acquisition of Intercept by Alfasigma.
On July 25, 2023, Mr. Balestrieri provided an update to Alfasigma Board regarding Alfasigma management’s search and evaluation of potential growth opportunities, and informed Alfasigma Board that a potential transaction involving Intercept was in the preliminary phase of assessment.
On the same day, Alfasigma participated in a management presentation session with Intercept management, who made presentations based on non-public diligence information. The management presentations included selected unaudited financial information concerning Intercept, which are more fully described in the Intercept’s Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on Schedule 14D-9.
Between July 20 and August 14, 2023, Alfasigma requested, and Intercept provided, limited confidential due diligence materials to assist with Alfasigma’s evaluation and submission of a proposal for a potential transaction involving Intercept.
On July 26, 2023, Alfasigma received a process letter from Barclays and Centerview, requesting that Alfasigma submit a proposal by August 15, 2023.
Between August 3 and August 4, 2023, representatives of Alfasigma held multiple discussions with representatives of Intercept regarding various due diligence topics.
On August 15, 2023, Alfasigma submitted a non-binding offer letter, proposing an acquisition of all outstanding common stock of Intercept for $16.75 per share in cash, subject to due diligence and other conditions.
Between August 15 and September 20, 2023, Alfasigma and its representatives submitted diligence requests and questions for Intercept to respond.
On August 21, 2023, representatives of Alfasigma received from Centerview representatives the message that Alfasigma was selected by the Intercept Board to proceed to the next round of the bidding process, but that its proposal was insufficient and Alfasigma needed to significantly improve its proposal.
On August 23, 2023, representatives of Alfasigma were granted access to the virtual dataroom containing confidential due diligence materials of Intercept.
On September 1, 2023, Alfasigma received a new process letter from Intercept, requesting its updated and final proposal by September 22, 2023.
On September 5, 2023, Alfasigma received an initial draft merger agreement prepared by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Intercept’s outside M&A counsel (“Skadden”).
Between September 7 and September 21, 2023, representatives of Alfasigma held multiple discussions with the representatives of Intercept regarding various due diligence topics.
On September 15, 2023, representatives of PJT were contacted by representatives of Centerview, who reiterated that Alfasigma would need to significantly improve its proposal in order for the Intercept Board to approve a transaction.
On September 18, 2023, Sullivan & Cromwell provided to Skadden a markup of the draft merger agreement, following which, discussions and negotiations among representatives of Sullivan & Cromwell and Skadden continued until the signing of the Merger Agreement on September 26, 2023. The parties exchanged revised drafts of the merger agreement during this time and negotiated, among other issues, the