(Alliance News) - Dechra Pharmaceuticals PLC on Thursday confirmed that it has entered into discussions with EQT X EUR SCSp and EQT X USD SCSp for a possible cash offer for the veterinary pharmaceutical company.

Under the terms of the possible offer, Dechra shareholders would receive 4,070 pence per ordinary share in cash.

Shares in Dechra closed up 1.6% to 2,733.53p each in London on Thursday. This means that the offer price is a 49% premium.

"There can be no certainty that any firm offer will be made for Dechra," the company said.

In February, Dechra said revenue in the six months to December 31 rose 14% to GBP377.4 million from GBP332.4 million a year before. Pretax profit fell sharply to GBP29.7 million from GBP53.4 million, as operating profit fell to GBP44.6 million from GBP57.4 million a year before.

At the time, Dechra said it expects full-year underlying operating profit to be at the lower end of analyst expectations.

By Sophie Rose, Alliance News reporter

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