Omnicare spurned again: latest bid for NeighborCare unsuccessful.

New effort, same result: in another attempt to acquire an unwilling rival, Covington, Ky.-based pharmaceutical giant Omnicare upped its purchase offer for NeighborCare to $32 per share, or $1.45 billion. Once again, NeighborCare said, "No thanks."

The new price reflected an increase of $2 per share, or about $120 million, from the company's initial all-cash offer of $1.33 billion or $30 a share. Omnicare has been attempting to acquire Baltimore-based NeighborCare since May 2004.

In a letter to customers, NeighborCare Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer John Arlotta restated what he's said for more than a year--that the offer undervalues the company. "That this is just another attempt to capture value by eliminating NeighborCare as a competitor," he said.

Joel Gemunder, Omnicare's president and CEO, said he was disappointed with NeighborCare's decision. He noted that this latest offer is an 81 percent increase over the company's closing stock price of $17.67 on May 21, 2004, the last trading day before the announcement of Omnicare's initial offer.

NeighborCare officials noted that the company's stock prices have been mostly in the $25-to-$30-per-share range since the offer, and traded at $33 or higher since the middle of last June.