 |
| Mylan CEO Heather Bresch |
Late last month, Teva ($TEVA) kicked off a roadshow to meet shareholders of its buyout target, Mylan ($MYL), and find out what price it'll need to put forth to convince them to support a deal. As Mylan starts up its own expo, its message is clear: It's categorically opposed to a tie-up with the Israeli drugmaker, and investors can't force one, either.
The way Mylan sees it, Teva is the "wrong company" to buy it, meaning it's not really a matter of price, Bernstein analyst Ronny Gal wrote in a note to investors on Wednesday. Any deal with Teva won't be done on a friendly basis, Chairman Robert Coury, CEO Heather Bresch and CFO John Sheehan said--and they'll make sure a hostile deal takes years.
As for what investors favor in the way of a Teva transaction, as a stakeholder--rather than a shareholder company--Mylan says it has more to consider when weighing a transaction than just its shareholders, Gal wrote. There are its employees, its suppliers, and the list goes on--"the metaphor used was a great job offer which makes your spouse unhappy," he said.
That message hasn't changed much since even before Teva offered up $43 billion to buy the company. Back when the rumor mill was buzzing with takeover talk, Coury put out a statement that called a combination with its generics rival "without sound industrial logic or cultural fit."
Instead, the drugmaker's execs are touting a "clear path" to buy Perrigo ($PRGO)--a company that's already thrice rejected its advances. And it's a deal it thinks its shareholders will ultimately prefer.
As the Mylan higher-ups told Gal, "investors will have to choose between a bird at hand (Perrigo deal) and a putative Teva deal two years down the road," he wrote. "They will be in a 'tough place' and choose Mylan's deal," they figure.
Meanwhile, though, Teva is still advocating away, recently reiterating its support for a Mylan buy and urging the company to engage in "productive negotiations" and "constructive, good faith dialogue."
Special Reports: Top 10 generics makers by 2012 revenue - Mylan - Teva | Pharma's top 10 M&A deals of 2014