Teva To Acquire Ratiopharm

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries has bid to acquire Germany-based generic drug manufacturer Ratiopharm, for an estimated $5.0 billion. The acquisition will provide Teva access to Germany’s generics market — the second largest in the world. Teva currently holds fourth place in Germany’s generics market, but the addition of Ratiopharm will put it at #2. Analysts suggest the takeover would move Teva’s global generics market share to around 19%, widening the gap over its closest competitor Novartis’s Sandoz unit, at about 11%.

Shlomo Yanai, Teva’s president and chief executive officer, said, “This is an important acquisition for Teva. This transaction is perfectly aligned with our long-term strategy in which Europe is an important pillar and growth driver. Ratiopharm will provide us with the ideal platform to strengthen our leadership position in key European markets, most notably in Germany, as well as rapidly growing generic markets such as Spain, Italy and France.”

A Teva statement said the company was valuing Ratiopharm’s portfolio of 500 molecules as well as its background in biosimilars, a field where it has several products in late-stage development. The combined company’s 2009 revenues would have been $16.2 billion, and would have 40,000 employees, with 18,000 in Europe. Teva expects to pare out $400 million in operating costs within three years. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2010.