Israeli drugmaker Teva wins battle to buy rival Ratiopharm for almost $5bn
Israel’s Teva yesterday won the battle for generic drugmaker Ratiopharm, paying €3.7bn (£3.3bn) to boost sales in Germany, the world’s second-largest generics market.
Teva, which beat rival bids from US drugs powerhouse Pfizer and Iceland’s Actavis, said the combined company would have had 2009 revenue of $16.2bn (£10.6bn), compared with Teva’s own sales of $13.9bn.
Already the world’s generics market leader, Teva now becomes number one in Europe, ahead of Novartis’ generics unit. The deal also raises its presence in Spain, Italy and France. Europe will account for around a third of sales, up from under a quarter that Teva has now.
The deal marks a coup for Teva chief executive Shlomo Yanai, a former army general who headed the Israeli security delegation to peace talks at Camp David, Shepherdstown and Wye River. Put on the block by Germany’s Merckle family as its business empire crumbled, Ratiopharm vies with Stada for second place among Germany’s generics makers, trailing Novartis’ Hexal business.
Under non-US GAAP accounting rules, the deal would immediately add to Teva’s earnings per share.