(Adds details, analysts comments, updates shares)
April 5 (Reuters) - Embattled drugmker Valeant
Pharmaceuticals International Inc VRX.TO said on Tuesday that
a board committee had completed a review of the company's
accounting practices and had not found any new items that would
require additional restatements.
The Canadian drugmaker's U.S.-listed shares VRX.N rose as
much as 14 percent, their biggest rise this year.
Valeant said last month that a board committee probing the
company's ties to specialty drug distributor Philidor Rx had
found accounting problems dating back to December 2014.
The company said on Tuesday that it was on schedule to file
its annual report on or before April 29 and that it would be in
compliance with all financial covenants in its credit facility.
Valeant said last week that it had asked its lenders for
another month to file its annual report, seeking to reduce the
risk of a default on its $30 billion debt if it missed the April
29 deadline.
"We would expect the shares to rally on what appears to be a
better than expected outcome from the Ad Hoc committee," RBC
Capital Markets analyst Douglas Miehm wrote in a client note.
Completion of the review should help Valeant as it works
with its lenders to amend the terms of its debt, he said.
Valeant was originally due to file its annual report by
March 15 but said in February that it would not meet that
deadline as a result of the review, which started in late 2015.
"Valeant needs to rebuild credibility ... and obviously a
relatively unsurprising annual report would be a significant
step forward," BMO Capital Markets analyst Alex Arafai wrote.
Valeant, under Chief Executive Michael Pearson (LON:PSON), was an
investor favorite for years as it went on an acquisition spree
and delivered double-digit profit growth.
But through Monday's close, its shares had lost about 90
percent of their value since August when its aggressive
acquisition strategy and practice of sharply raising drug prices
come under public, political and regulatory scrutiny.
Valeant is also under investigation by the U.S. Congress and
various U.S. government agencies over to its strategy and links
to links to Philidor, which has since shut down.
Valeant said last month that Pearson would step down as soon
as a replacement is found.
Valeant's U.S. shares were up 9.8 percent at $28.67 in
morning trading. The company's Toronto-listed shares were up 7.8
percent at C$37.