LAVAL, Que. - Quebec pharmaceutical company Valeant (TSX:VRX) says it's increasing the cash portion of its offer to buy Botox-maker Allergan by $10 per share, or about 21 per cent, as part of its hostile takeover bid.

Valeant CEO Michael Pearson said the increased cash per share offer to $58.30 is based on feedback from Allergan shareholders and he'll further discuss Valeant's improved offer in a conference call on Wednesday morning.

The Quebec company is maintaining its offer of 0.83 of a Valeant share for each Allergan share as part of its almost US$47 billion bid for U.S.-based Allergan. Under its previous cash and share offer, worth about US$156.16 per share, Valeant had offered to pay US$48.30 in cash.

Valeant also said it will also commit up to $400 million to invest in Allergan's eye drug Darpin and keep the current Allergan employees responsible for its development.

"Our increased offer provides additional immediate value to the Allergan shareholders _ we note that the cash portion of our revised offer alone represents approximately 50 per cent of Allergan's unaffected share price _ and provides Allergan shareholders with significant substantial additional value if Darpin achieves Allergan's expectations," Pearson said in a letter to Allergan chairman and CEO David Pyott.

Darpin is a treatment for macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness in the elderly.

Some analysts have said Valeant will have to substantially boost its offer to as much as US$200 per share including a larger cash portion because Allergan is "well-positioned'' to grow as an independent company.

Allergan has raised repeated questions about Valeant's business model and stock value. The California-based company has said Valeant's growth is overstated and questioned its ability to cut US$2.7 billion of expenses if it is successful in acquiring the company.

Valeant has said Allergan has a "fundamental misunderstanding" of its business model and performance.

Pearson maintained the two companies are a good fit.

"As importantly, we believe the combined companies can better serve the patient and medical communities with a more complete offering of products and continued innovation in ophthalmology, dermatology, aesthetics, neurology and emerging markets," he said in the letter.

Earlier Wednesday, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. said it has agreed to sell the rights to five dermatological products to Nestle S.A. for $1.4 billion.

Valeant said Nestle expects to complete its acquisition of Galderma S.A. in July. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and Valeant said it's not contingent on a successful transaction with Allergan.

The five anti-aging skin treatments being sold by Valeant to Nestle are Restylane, Perlane, Emervel, Sculptra and Dysport.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2014