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| Mylan Executive Chairman Robert Coury |
Since before Teva ($TEVA) even made its now-rejected $40 billion offer to buy Mylan ($MYL), its target's exec chairman, Robert Coury, has been pretty down on the idea, citing a potential culture clash between the two companies. While Teva CEO Erez Vigodman has said he thinks they'd get along just fine, the rival drugmakers do have a few big differences between them--including their approach to executive compensation.
According to Mylan, Coury's compensation soared 46% to hit $22.5 million in 2014, Bloomberg reports. Teva, on the other hand, took heat in 2012 when it sought to raise then-chairman Phillip Frost's salary from $517,000 to $900,000--less than Coury got for personal use of Mylan's corporate jets that same year, the news service notes.
Teva's approach to exec pay "favors restraint and a pay-for-performance philosophy, a reflection of our fidelity to the interests of all stakeholders, and not just a select few," Vigodman wrote in a Wednesday letter to Coury.
Coury--who said earlier this month that a tie-up between the two drugmakers would be "without sound logic or cultural fit"--hasn't just expressed concerns about the companies' differences. He's also worried about their similarities--specifically, business overlap he thinks would thwart a deal's regulatory clearance.
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| Teva CEO Erez Vigodman |
Teva, though, is confident it could work around the antitrust issues--and any others that arise, Vigodman said Wednesday. The Petah Tikva-based pharma's leadership team is "respectful of an acquired company's heritage and is focused on preserving each organization's core strengths, competencies and talent," he wrote, urging Mylan to engage in "productive negotiations" and "constructive, good faith dialogue."
- get more from Bloomberg here and here
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