Is Teva in talks to buy Stada?

Could it be that Teva Pharmaceutical Industries is already making another deal? Israel's Globes news service reports that the generics giant is in talks to buy the German drugmaker Stada Arzneimittel, that country's third-largest manufacturer of copycat meds and one of the top 20 worldwide.

A few months ago, Teva CEO Shlomo Yanai noted Germany's status as the largest generics market in Europe. "We're constantly examining possibilities there, including acquisitions," he said at the time. Now, the company won't comment about a potential Stada deal, and nor will the German company.

But does Teva need more of a presence in Germany than it will already get with its $9 billion buyout of Barr Pharmaceuticals? Teva's Europe VP has said that the Barr deal will get Teva's products into every pharmacy in that country. Investors don't seem to care; they're bidding up Stada stock as we speak.

- read the story at Trading Markets