Mylan bows out of Rottapharm bidding

The Rovati family isn't making it easy for anyone interested in bidding on Rottapharm. According to a report in Reuters, Mylan ($MYL) has walked away from the bargaining table after negotiators failed to overcome the family's demand that it remain in control of the company, without showing any flexibility on the price. And something had to give.

"If you want to keep control, you need to compromise on price," a source close to the talks told the business newswire. "If you want a high price, you need to give away some control."

Rottapharm, you may recall, had originally sought out an investor among the private equity groups, looking for some deep pockets and an interest in a big minority stake. When that failed to pan out, it started up talks last year with rivals at Mylan, Forest Pharmaceuticals and Watson Pharmaceuticals ($WPI), operating with the assumption that Rottapharm was worth $2.6 billion.

With Mylan out, the focus turns to Watson, which reportedly doesn't see any big synergies in Europe if it buys in to Rottapharm. And Forest may have too much to fret about with its biggest drug losing patent protection. Waiting in the wings is Carl Icahn (photo), who gathered up a big stake in the Italian company after concluding he had found another turnaround worthy of his skills. This pharma drama is far from over.

- read the story from Reuters

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