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| Mylan Chairman Robert Coury |
Mylan Chairman Robert Coury has said more than once that Mylan ($MYL) isn't interested in selling itself to Teva ($TEVA). A deal for Mylan to buy its pursuer, though? That's a different story.
Coury recently told investors that Mylan would be willing to tango with Teva somewhere down the road--as long as it's the one doing the buying, Reuters reports.
That may come as a surprise to industry watchers who have been following the deal scrap. Even before Teva made its $40-billion-plus bid, Mylan came out swinging, listing perceived cultural clashes and antitrust hurdles among the reasons the generics rivals couldn't combine.
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| Mylan CEO Heather Bresch |
But as CEO Heather Bresch explained to the news service, the way Mylan sees it, its management team, integrated global supply chain and superior acquisition track record would make it more capable than Teva to lead a merged company--and one Mylan might eventually be willing to consider.
Even so, though, Mylan isn't clamoring for a transaction anytime soon. First, it's trying to make amends with Perrigo ($PRGO), which has thrice rejected its own buyout bid. Mylan is currently in the middle of a roadshow, meeting with top investors to rally support for an acquisition of the Irish drugmaker.
So in regards to Teva, "we were just saying in a hypothetical situation, if it ever were to happen after all these other things, the only way it could happen is with us," Bresch said.
Meanwhile, though, Teva--whose CEO, Erez Vigodman, has assured shareholders it's perfectly capable of undertaking a Mylan fold-in--is in the middle of its own investor meetings. Last week, it reiterated its support for a Mylan pickup and urged the company to engage in "productive negotiations" and "constructive, good faith dialogue."
- see the Reuters story
Special Reports: Top 10 generics makers by 2012 revenue - Mylan - Teva | Pharma's top 10 M&A deals of 2014