Teva’s mammoth acquisition of Allergan’s generics business is taking longer than the company would like, and it has U.S. antitrust regulators to thank for the delay. Now, though, it’s finalizing some castoffs that it hopes will help bring the deal to the finish line.
The Israeli drugmaker is putting the finishing touches on as much as $2 billion in asset sale pacts, sources tell Reuters--and it’s crossing its fingers that’ll help it snag a go-ahead from the FTC on the $40.5 billion transaction. The generics leader has found buyers for almost all the assets it expects to bid farewell, including 50 already-marketed meds and 25 pipeline products in areas such as cancer, respiratory and CNS.
Of course, jettisoning those products doesn’t guarantee the FTC’s favor, which Teva has said it expects to win by June. But as Bernstein analyst Ronny Gal reassured investors late last month, even if it takes another wave of sales after this one to satisfy the commission, the deal should be done in a matter of weeks.
That’s music to the ears of antsy shareholders, who have been waiting with bated breath since the pair announced the sale last summer. While regulatory clearance has gone quickly in Europe--authorities there signed off on the buy nearly two months ago--Teva had to delay its original March timeline for the close on the U.S. holdup, a move investors weren’t happy with.
Teva and Allergan themselves will likely be pretty happy to wrap things up, too; Teva could use the extra revenue to boost a lagging generics unit, especially with generic Copaxone now preying on branded sales. And the Dublin drugmaker is eager to get its hands on Teva’s cash, which it can use to start bulking up again now that its megamerger with Pfizer--canceled last month on new U.S. tax rules--is in the rearview window.
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