Actavis rejects Mylan’s $15-bn offer

Actavis Inc, the largest US generic drug maker by market value, last week rejected an over $15-billion takeover bid from its smaller rival Mylan Inc, Bloomberg yesterday reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Pennsylvania-based Mylan's offer came soon after Actavis put on hold discussions over selling itself to Canada's Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc for more than $13 billion. (See: Valeant Pharma's $13-bn Actavis deal put on hold)

Actavis later said that it is in ''early stage discussions'' to buy Irish specialty pharmaceutical company Warner Chilcott Plc.

Mylan is said to have offered $120 a share in a cash and stock deal, but is no longer interested after shares of Actavis rose significantly over the past week to above its $120 per share offer, the report said.

Actavis shares closed yesterday at $121.68 on the New York Stock Exchange, valuing the New Jersey-based company at more than $15.5 billion.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, has also looked at Actavis, but Israel's biggest generic drug maker is more keen on smaller acquisitions the report said.

Actavis, the world's third-largest generic drugmaker was established in January after New Jersey-based Watson Pharmaceuticals acquired it for around $5.60 billion, in order to expand in Europe.

It develops, manufactures and markets generic, branded generic, legacy brands and over-the-counter (OTC) products in more than 60 countries.

The company is ranked among the top 3 in 12 global markets, the top 5 in 16 global markets, and in the top 10 in 33 global markets.

Actavis has one of the broadest product portfolios and strongest pipelines in the generics industry. It has more than 750 molecules in 1,700 dosage combinations marketed globally through operations in more than 60 countries and around 40 per cent of its generic drug revenue comes from outside the US.

The company is in leading market positions in key established commercial markets and emerging markets in Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, the UK, France and Australia.

It has 30 manufacturing and distribution facilities around the world, including in China, India, Indonesia and Singapore.

Actavis Specialty Brands, formerly known as the Global Brands business, markets more than 40 branded pharmaceutical products, primarily in the US.

Actavis also develops and out-licenses generic pharmaceutical products outside the US through its Medis third-party business, the world's largest generic pharmaceutical out-licensing business. Medis has more than 300 customers globally, and offers a broad portfolio of more than 200 products.

Actavis, the maker of the generic version of Pfizer's blockbuster cholesterol busting drug Lipitor, has a market value of $12.9 billion and generated revenue of $5.9 billion last year.