The development leaves Teva bidding against Actavis for the German pharmaceuticals company.
The auction for German pharmaceuticals company Ratiopharm has shrunk to two main contenders. US giant Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) has dropped out, and it appears that Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) is close to its next big acquisition.
Israeli company Teva is up against Actavis of Iceland, which is backed by Swedish private equity firm EQT. It is estimated that the acquisition price will be about €3 billion ($4.17 billion). Teva is considered the favorite to snap up Ratiopharm because of its capacity to absorb the company and cope with an acquisition on this scale.
The declaration of the auction winner is expected on Friday.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 3, 2010
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2010